Rebekah Vardy

Rebekah Vardy has lost her "Wagatha Christie" libel trial against Coleen Rooney over a viral social media post.

Rooney said she posted a series of fake stories about herself on Instagram with a view to finding out who had been leaking information about her, blocking everyone apart from one person on her account from seeing the posts. Vardy, the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, took Rooney, the wife of England's record goal scorer Wayne Rooney, to court after she was accused of supplying the media with private information about Coleen Rooney. It came after Rooney had staged an elaborate sting operation to find out who was passing on stories about her private life. Rebekah Vardy has lost her "Wagatha Christie" libel trial against Coleen Rooney over a viral social media post.

A High Court judge rules that "significant parts" of Rebekah Vardy's evidence are "not credible".

Mrs Justice Steyn said she accepted "the reveal post was on a matter of public interest... But she added: "The evidence... But she added: "It was not reasonable to believe that it was in the public interest to publish the reveal post, without taking any steps to put the allegation to Mrs Vardy and give her an opportunity to respond." "It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. Firstly, Mrs Vardy's legal bill will be enormous. Mrs Justice Steyn concluded that Mrs Vardy had"a degree of self-deception" about her role in disclosing information to The Sun. "Although significant parts of Mrs Vardy's evidence were not credible, my assessment is that she is genuinely offended by the accusation made against her by Mrs Rooney in the reveal post." "In my judgement, it is likely that Ms Vardy deliberately deleted her WhatsApp chat with Ms Watt, and that Ms Watt deliberately dropped her phone in the sea," she said. But the judge said the likelihood that the loss of the phone was accidental was "slim". The judge said of Mrs Vardy that "significant parts of her evidence were not credible", while she added: "In my judgement, Ms Rooney was an honest and reliable witness." Mrs Justice Steyn said it was "likely" that Mrs Vardy's agent at the time, Caroline Watt, "undertook the direct act" of passing information to The Sun. Mrs Rooney said she was "pleased" the ruling had gone in her favour, adding "it was not a case I ever sought or wanted".

It's a devastating blow to Vardy, who launched the libel suit to defend her reputation.

The judge was scathing about Vardy's credibility as a witness, saying some of her evidence was "manifestly inconsistent with the contemporaneous documentary evidence, evasive or implausible." "Please can the people who have been abusing me and my family now stop," she said. Watt's phone, which was sought by Rooney's lawyers as evidence, was reported to have fallen into the North Sea. Steyn said it was likely that Vardy's agent, Caroline Watt, had passed Rooney's private information to The Sun newspaper, and that "Mrs. Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour." The case, heard at the High Court in May, was a media sensation. The stories — including one about a fictitious basement flood at the Rooneys' house and another reporting Coleen Rooney was trying to revive her TV career — duly appeared in The Sun. Then there was the amateur detective work that led to Rooney's accusation. In an October 2019 social media post to almost 2 million followers, she revealed: "It's ................ Rebekah Vardy's account." The case has reportedly cost each side more than 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) in legal fees. Vardy's lawyers said Watt's health was too fragile for her to take the stand. Both women testified during the trial, with Vardy several times breaking down in tears. In a devastating blow to Vardy, who launched the libel suit to defend her reputation, the judge said Rooney's allegation was "substantially true."

Coleen Rooney, the wife of former England football captain Wayne, emerged victorious in her high-profile libel match with the spouse of an ex-teammate after ...