Paul Gascoigne was paid £188,250 by Trinity Mirror in compensation.
In a move which has the potential to financially ruin the newspaper group, 70 celebrities and politicians are suing Trinity Mirror for having their phones hacked.
The news comes as the group was ordered to pay £1.2 million in damages to eight phone hacking victims, with compensation costs now estimated to rise from £12 million to £28 million.
Following a three week trial, the eight payouts were awarded to celebrities including Paul Gascoigne and Sadie Frost, with Davina McCall and Sheryl Gascoigne amongst those in the process of suing the paper.
According to a high court judge, phone hacking at Trinity Mirror was “widespread and frequent” for a decade, with the damage costs dwarfing those paid out by News UK.
In the first ruling, judge Mr Justice Mann awarded £260,250 to Frost and £188,250 to ex-footballer Gascoigne as compensation for the “horror, distaste and distress” experienced as a result of the hackings.
“People whose private voicemail messages were hacked so often and for so long and had very significant parts of their private lives exposed, and then reported on, are entitled to significant compensation,” Mr Justice Mann said.
In a statement, Trinity Mirror said that it accepted that it should pay “appropriate compensation” to individuals who were the target of phone hacking; however, the group said that it is considering whether to seek permission to appeal.
“The Board is confident that the exposures arising from these historic events are manageable and do not undermine the delivery of the Group’s strategy for growth,” it added.
Daniel Taylor of Taylor Hampton solicitors, who represented three of the eight victims, said the ruling marked a milestone in the development of privacy law in the UK.
“The awarding of six-figure damages is truly historic and unparalleled, on a scale much greater than has ever been awarded previously,” he added.
