Paul Gascoigne has said he kissed his alleged sexual assault victim on the lips because he wanted to "protect" her after hearing a fellow train passenger make fun of her weight.
The 52-year-old is accused of sexual assault over an incident on a CrossCountry train from York to Newcastle last year, when he is said to have planted a sloppy, drunken kiss on a woman in his carriage.
Giving evidence on day two of the trial at Teesside Crown Court, the former footballer told the jury someone on the train had called the woman "fat and ugly" and that he wanted to comfort her.
Gascoigne said his instinct was to "automatically protect" anyone who is teased about their weight, telling the court how he was called a "fat b******" when he was a player and that his children and nephews have also been called fat.
He said the insult towards the woman came after someone suggested she have "a selfie with Gazza", at which point he overheard someone say: "You don't want a photo with her, she's fat and ugly."
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His voice broke as he described the "peck on the lips" to jurors.
An emotional Gascoigne, who said he did not have his false teeth in at the time of the incident, added: "Automatically I went and sat next to her and said, 'look, you're not fat and ugly, you're beautiful inside'."
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Gascoigne, who denies a charge of sexual assault by touching, said he did not regard the kiss as sexual harassment.
In his police interview after his arrest, which was played in court, he told officers: "I get kissed all the time, so if that's the case I have been sexually harassed for 20 years."
When asked by the prosecution why he did not apologise to the woman in his police interview, the ex-Tottenham midfielder said she "didn't seem that botheRead More – Source
