Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy are embroiled in a legal battle
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Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy are embroiled in a legal battle
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A court hearing for a libel claim brought by Rebekah Vardy against Coleen Rooney has entered its second day.
Our reporters Chiara Giordiano and Maryam Zakir-Hussain are at London’s High Court, where a two-day hearing this week is to decide what evidence can be used at a trial in May.
In 2019, Ms Rooney had parts of her personal life published in the papers without her permission.
She then posted fake information to her Instagram Stories and gradually whittled down her audience to just Ms Vardy’s account.
Ms Rooney then claimed it was Ms Vardy who had been leaking the stories to The Sun.
Her investigation gained her the nickname ‘Wagatha Christie’, based on the term ‘Wag’ that refers to ‘wives and girlfriends’ of high-profile sportsmen.
Ms Vardy – married to Jamie Vardy – rejects the allegations, and claims other people have access to her accounts.
The court has heard that Ms Rooney – married to Wayne Rooney – feels that Ms Vardy’s then-agent Caroline Watt should be included in the case.
Ms Watt has claimed that her phone had accidentally fallen into the North Sea, after Ms Rooney’s lawyers requested access to it.
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Key Points Second day of Vardy v Rooney hearing commences Vardy’s former agent’s phone ‘dropped in North Sea’ - in detail Quick recap of Tuesday’s developments
Show latest update 1644408051 Vardy accused of having ‘history’ as leak of people’s stories
There was “an established history and practice” of Rebekah Vardy leaking private information “not just of [Coleen] Rooney but also others”, the High Court had heard.
Ms Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne alleged that Ms Vardy and her then-agent Caroline Watt “created a lie together” to use “if it became obvious Mrs Vardy was responsible for the leaks, which it did”.
“We say they agreed to this strategy,” he said, referring to the “concoction of the lie”.
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 12:00
1644406851 Vardy’s former agent Watt was ‘direct leak of Rooney’s info’
Rebekah Vardy’s former agent Caroline Watt had been “routinely accessing [Coleen] Rooney’s private Instagram account and then disclosing information from it to a newspaper,” the court heard.
Ms Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne said given the “nature of the act” and the way it was carried out, the “vindication” comes not just in damages but also in the form of the judgment.
Following the disclosure of WhatsApp messages exchanged between Ms Vardy and Ms Watt in court on Tuesday, Mr Sherborne told the court: “Now what we allege is that she was the direct leak.
“She was the person who actively sought out the private information from monitoring.
“She was the one who checked whether it was in the public domain and who leaked that information to The Sun and I say it is that active part that is now clear she played that demonstrates the misuse of private information.”
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 11:40
1644405337 Witness statements ‘not ready yet' - Rooney’s lawyer
At the start of the hearing today, Ms Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne told the court that the witness statements are not ready.
He said: “The ingredients have not even been stirred yet.”
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 11:15
1644404437 Vardy’s former agent’s phone ‘dropped in North Sea’ - in detail
On Tuesday, the High Court heard that some of the private messages relating to the libel case are missing.
Rebekah Vardy’s former agent Caroline Watt said she had accidentally dropped her phone into the North Sea when the boat she was in had hit a wave.
The alleged incident at sea happened soon after Ms Rooney’s lawyers requested access to the device, the court heard.
Ms Rooney’s legal team said: “Coincidentally, around the same time, all media files from Mrs Vardy’s WhatsApp conversation with Ms Watt also bizarrely disappeared (and from all backups), whilst apparently in the process of exporting it to her solicitors.”
Ms Vardy’s husband Jamie, a Leicester City striker, has said – after Ms Rooney’s lawyers requested access to his phone – that his “WhatsApp was hacked and all conversations were deleted and could not be restored”.
A laptop his wife had used also “no longer functions”, while messages between her and Sun journalist Andy Halls no longer exist.
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 11:00
1644403537 Quick recap of Tuesday’s developments The court heard that Vardy described Rooney as a ‘c***’ and a ‘nasty b****’ in WhatsApp messages to her agent Caroline Watt Watt had claimed that she accidentally dropped her phone into the North Sea after Rooney’s lawyers requested the device Rooney’s lawyer David Sherborne said his client felt that Watt should be included in the case Sherborne said Watt and Vardy would “routinely” look at Rooney’s Instagram stories with a view to having them published
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 10:45
1644403128 Second day of High Court hearing commences
Good morning. Welcome to our live coverage of the Vardy v Rooney libel court case as it enters its second day.
My colleagues Chiara Giordano and Maryam Zakir-Hussain are at the High Court in London to watch the proceedings.
Stay tuned for updates.
Lamiat Sabin 9 February 2022 10:38