His total does not include costs for a separate trial last year in which he got a 12-year term for raping a girl of 13 after plying her with booze and drugs.
Five other defendants, aged from 40 to 45 and jailed for between ten and 20 years, each received between £60,147 and £99,168 in legal aid.
The seventh, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had £90,849. All bar one of the gang were convicted of rape — and one of them fell asleep in court as impact statements put forward by the victims were read out.
News of the gang’s legal aid bill comes after the Government was accused of axing local child rape inquiries to appease Pakistani voters.
Former Equalities Commission chief Sir Trevor Phillips called ministers “utterly shameful” for watering down a series of investigations.
The Home Office said last week that a £5million fund for five inquiries into grooming gangs in Oldham and other areas will instead be diverted to projects such as victims’ panels.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman added: “Any claims that the funding has been watered down, or that we are backing down from supporting local inquiries, is patently false.
“A flexible approach to funding will allow us to support more than five inquiries.”
The Legal Aid Agency said cash is not paid to defendants but to their legal representatives “to ensure access to justice and, in criminal cases, to ensure a fair trial”.
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