The ex-wife of former England footballer Paul Gascoigne was designated a Core Participant Victim by the Inquiry. During and after her marriage, Ms Gascoigne and her children were the subjects of intense media scrutiny, she said. She had pursued libel cases against several national newspapers and been awarded damages. She gave evidence of "massive intrusion" into her family's private life and examples of six totally untrue stories printed about her in the Mirror, the Daily Star, the News of the World and the People. She received apologies, statements or costs and damages from all of them, she said, telling the Inquiry that after she had taken action the press treated her with more respect.
Ex-wife of Bruce Grobbelaar, the former footballer exposed in 1984 by The Sun for accepting bribes to throw football matches. Deborah Grobbelaar gave evidence of intense media intrusion over 17 years throughout high-profile court cases, bankruptcies and the Grobbelaar’s divorce.
