LONDON - FIA President Max Mosley, at the centre of lurid newspaper claims here, defended his right to an 'eccentric' private life in comments published on Sunday - but said it was not a reason for him to quit.

The 68-year-old faces a vote of confidence at an extraordinary hearing of world motor sport's governing body in June after claims in a British tabloid that he indulged in a Nazi-themed sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes.

But amid calls from some Formula 1 drivers, manufacturers and leading figures for him to go for bringing the sport into disrepute, he said he wants to be able to complete his term and step down voluntarily next year.

Mosley told the Sunday Telegraph in a wide-ranging interview that he had done nothing illegal and that his sex life and sexual preferences had no bearing on his FIA duties.

He said the criticisms were 'based on the idea that somehow you can't have in your life any sort of sexual activity that's at all eccentric'.

'Most people say if somebody likes doing that, if it's not harming anybody, if it's in private and it's completely secret and personal, it's nothing to do with me,' he was quoted as saying.

Mosley, whose father Oswald was a British fascist leader during World War II, said his involvement with prostitutes at a London flat - a 90-second video clip of which has appeared on the newspaper's website - had no Nazi connotations.

He accused the News of the World of a 'deliberate, cold-blooded and calculated lie' against him and is seeking damages for invasion of privacy. The tabloid is contesting the claim.

Mosley has been FIA boss since 1993 and said during his time he had helped improve car and road safety.

He said he was inclined to fight the calls for him to quit.

'But if they wish me to continue, I will continue. If they don't, I'll stop,' he added. -- AFP