Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy are embroiled in a legal battle
(Getty)
A court hearing for a libel case brought by Rebekah Vardy against Coleen Rooney has entered its second day today.
The two-day hearing this week at the High Court in London is to decide what evidence can be used at the trial in May.
In 2019, Ms Rooney posted fake information to her Instagram Stories and gradually reduced her audience to just Ms Vardy’s account.
She subsequently claimed that it was Ms Vardy who had been leaking the false stories to a Sun journalist.
Ms Rooney’s investigation led to her being known as ‘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 accusations and claims that other people have access to her social media accounts.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Ms Vardy described Ms Rooney – married to Wayne Rooney – as a ‘c***’ and a ‘nasty b****’ in WhatsApp messages to her then-agent Caroline Watt.
David Sherborne, acting for Rooney, said his client felt that Ms Watt – who claimed her phone had accidentally fallen into the North Sea – should be included in the case.
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 Sabin9 February 2022 11:15
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 Sabin9 February 2022 11:00
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 Sabin9 February 2022 10:45
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.
Lamiat Sabin9 February 2022 10:38
