Rebekah Vardy loses libel trial against Coleen Rooney in bitter 'Wagatha Christie' court battle

Rebekah Vardy has lost a sensational courtroom battle over explosive claims she was leaking stories about Coleen Rooney to the press.

The 40-year-old, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie, was suing Rooney, the wife of England star Wayne, for defamation in a hearing dubbed 'Wagatha Christie' by fans. Rooney, 36, uploaded several fake stories to her private Instagram account in a six month sting to find out who was sharing private information to The Sun newspaper.

Rooney publicly accused her fellow WAG of passing on the fake stories in the now-infamous Wagatha Christie tweet in October 2019. Hugh Tomlinson QC, representing Rebekah, told London's High Court Rooney’s post was constructed like a “mini whodunnit” and had caused "serious harm" to his client.

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At around 12pm today (Friday July 29) Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that Rooney's post was "substantially true" and that Vardy "knew of, condoned and was actively engaged" in leaks to the media by her agent.

David Sherborne, for Coleen, argued Rebekah knew her agent Caroline Watt, who did not give evidence at the trial, was leaking stories to the press. The posts, which went on to make stories in The Sun, included Coleen travelling to Mexico for a “gender selection” procedure, a car crash she had in America and a flood in her basement.

Mrs Vardy, 40, denied the accusations but during the trial in May this year accepted her PR Caroline may have leaked stories without her knowledge or consent. Caroline's phone was never examined after it "fell into the sea during a boat trip in Scotland", the court heard.

It was said a story appeared in The Sun about a car