Phone hacking payouts for Paul Gascoigne and Sadie Frost

The former England footballer (pictured above, in 2013) was awarded £188,250 in damages at the high court, and actress Sadie Frost (pictured below) received £260,250.

Lawyers for phone-hacking victims claimed today’s payouts, totalling around £1.2m, were “unparalleled”.

Eight damages awards were announced at London’s high court today after a three-week hearing in March to determine the extent of the wrongdoing at the group and what level of compensation was appropriate.

Mr Justice Mann also awarded £85,000 to TV executive Alan Yentob, £117,500 and £157,250 respectively to actresses Shobna Gulati and Lucy Taggart, and £155,000 to soap star Shane Richie (pictured below).

Today’s judgment represents a milestone in the development of privacy law in the UK Daniel Taylor, solicitor

TV producer Robert Ashworth, who was married to actress Tracy Shaw, received £201,250, and flight attendant Lauren Alcorn, who had a relationship with soccer star Rio Ferdinand, was awarded £72,500.

The judge said the victims had all suffered a “serious infringement of privacy” and the scale of hacking was “very substantial indeed”.

The judge’s ruling will provide a framework for resolving similar civil actions in the pipeline.

Daniel Taylor, of Taylor Hampton, solicitors who represented three of the eight victims, said: “Today’s judgment represents a milestone in the development of privacy law in the UK and the awarding of six-figure damages is truly historic and unparalleled, on a scale much greater than has ever been awarded previously.”

TV executive Alan Yentob was awarded £85,000.