Ecclestone warned Mosley about plot against him

A report in The London Times today said that FIA head Max Mosley was warned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone about the plot against him two months before the whole sex scandal started. Drew Attew, an consultant who had worked for both Ecclestone and Mosley in the past, was tipped off about the plot earlier in the year.

"I received a call from a friend in January this year," Attew told The London Times. "We had a meeting and I was told there was an open budget to effectively go out and source material that would bring Max to his knees, remove him from office, and discredit him publicly."

"The person contacted me because they knew of my relationship with Bernie, but they didn't know of my relationship with Max. The reason they contacted me was to find out whether I had any loyalty to Max, and whether I knew anything of value. I asked 'are you after Max, the FIA, or Bernie?' They came back a little while later and said they weren't going to pursue it for the time being."

Attew then warned Ecclestone about the plot, who then told Mosley about it.

"I sat down with Bernie and told him what I'd heard," said Attew. "Bernie then told Max, I know this because Max later confirmed it to me. I assumed the warning would be taken seriously. It was clear that Max disregarded the advice and failed to realise his vulnerability. The issue for me was his total disregard for genuine advice from individuals that he knew had his best interests at heart. I asked Bernie if there was anything anyone was going to find out about Max and he said 'you're not going to find anything because there's nothing there, he's Mr Boring in that sense'. Mosley had kept this a good secret."

Attew also believes that Mosley should had come forward about this incdient and shake off any indication that Ecclestone was involved in the plot.

"I hear people suggesting Bernie was behind this, but that's ridiculous," he added. "From the very first indication, Bernie and I, with Max's knowledge, have tried to find out who was the source. When we saw what was in the News of the World, Bernie was as flabbergasted as I was."

Ecclestone had warned Mosley about plot [Autosport.com]