Gascoigne’s ex-wife wins

THE ex-wife of former England footballer Paul Gascoigne accepted a five-figure damages payout over a newspaper allegation that she was a liar.

Sheryl Gascoigne’s solicitor, Roderick Chisholm-Batten, told the judge that a News of the World article suggested she had lied by falsely claiming that her former husband had forced himself on her sexually and that she suffered repeated acts of violence at his hands.

The lawyer said the article was published on October 18, 2009, entitled You Lying Bitch.

It concerned Paul Gascoigne’s reaction to an interview given by Sheryl Gascoigne about her book, Stronger: My Life Surviving Gazza, which was published in the News of the World on October 11.

The defendant, News Group Newspapers, “now accepts that each of these allegations was completely untrue”.

The damages figure was not disclosed in court.