‘Not a case I sought’ says Coleen after win
COLEEN Rooney has welcomed her victory in the “Wagatha Christie” High Court case brought by Rebekah Vardy but added that she “never believed it should have gone to court” and that “it was not a case I ever sought or wanted”.
In a social media post that went viral in October 2019, Mrs Rooney, 36, said she had carried out a months-long “sting operation” and accused Mrs Vardy, 40, of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the press.
The wife of former England footballer Wayne Rooney publicly claimed Mrs Vardy’s account was the source behind three stories in The Sun newspaper featuring fake details she had posted on her private Instagram stories.
Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, denied leaking stories to the media and sued her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney defended the claim on the basis that her post was “substantially true”.
In a much-anticipated ruling on Friday, Mrs Justice Steyn found in Mrs Rooney’s favour and dismissed the claim against her.
Following the judgment, Mrs Rooney said she was “pleased” with the ruling following a week-long trial in May.
She said: “It was not a case I ever sought or wanted. I never believed it should have gone to court at such expense in times of hardship for so many people when the money could have been far better spent helping others.
“Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made every effort to avoid the need for such a drawn-out and public court case.
“All my attempts to do so were knocked back by Mrs Vardy.”
Mrs Rooney added that she had “no alternative” but to defend the claim “to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun”.
She continued: “These leaks from my private Instagram account began in 2017.
They continued for almost two years, intruding on my privacy and that of my family.
“Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill-will, today’s judgment makes clear that I was right in what I said in my posts of October 2019.”
In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn said it was “likely” that Mrs Vardy’s agent at the time, Caroline Watt, “undertook the direct act” of passing the information to The Sun.
But she added: “Nonetheless, the evidence ... clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.”
After the judgment, Mrs Vardy thanked her supporters and said she was “extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the judge has reached”.
She continued: “It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just.
“I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the judge’s finding.”