Mosley gives £500k to Labour’s deputy leader
‘This is a very questionable idea’
FORMER F1 tycoon Max Mosley has given half a million pounds to Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson in the past eight months, raising further doubts over the independence of the Press regulator Impress.
The latest official records show Mr Watson received £300,000 from the former Formula 1 boss on February 10. That followed a £200,000 donation registered in June and £40,000 from 2015.
In the House of Commons register of members’ interests, Mr Watson says the money was donated via the Labour Party to support his office.
Mr Watson is a founding member of the advisory committee for Hacked Off, the anti-Press pressure group.
Mr Mosley, the son of the wartime fascist leader Oswald Mosley, is almost single-handedly bankrolling Impress, the press regulator set up to offer ‘independent’ regulation under a State-backed scheme.
However, critics have questioned whether Impress can be independent given its reliance on Mr Mosley’s millions.
No national or regional newspa- per has yet signed up to Impress, which has admitted it will rely on £3.8million in donations over four years from the Mosley family.
The majority of titles – including the Daily Mail – are instead overseen by the Independent Press Standards Organisation, which is funded by its members.
Last night Mr Watson said: ‘ I’m proud to call Max Mosley a friend and I’m delighted he has made a financial contribution to Labour.
‘His generous donation will help the party develop strong policies for our next manifesto.’
When the £ 200,000 donation emerged in June last year, Bob Satchwell, the executive director of the Society of Editors, said: ‘ Tom Watson has been one of the fiercest critics of newspapers, so the idea that his benefactor Max Mosley’s Impress can be considered independent is very questionable.’
He added that the six-figure contribution was ‘further evidence that Impress is the [regulator] that clearly lacks independence’.
Five years ago Mr Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, wrote the book Dial M For Murdoch about the phone-hacking scandal. His coauthor Martin Hickman is now a member of Impress’s board.
Mr Mosley has been a key figure in the campaign to impose State-sponsored regulation on the Press after he sued the News of the World for printing photos of him taking part in a sadomasochistic orgy with prostitutes dressed in military uniform.
Impress is the only regulator approved under the Royal Charter, which was agreed between the three main political parties and Hacked Off after the Leveson Inquiry recommended ‘voluntary, independent self-regulation’.
Mr Mosley has previously defended his donations to Mr Watson, calling him a ‘very admirable politician, a fearless campaigner against injustice and a good man’. He added: ‘I have the greatest respect for his commitment to public service, I agree with his aims and am delighted to be able to help.’
Both he and Impress officials have insisted the regulator is independent despite his financial support.
Mr Mosley did not respond to requests for comment last night.