Coleen Rooney launched a defiant defence today in her bitter High Court battle with Rebekah Vardy – accusing her of ‘habitually’ leaking stories to the press.
In a blistering 55-page document, seen by MailOnline, Coleen laid out in precise detail why she believes Rebekah routinely briefed journalists about her.
It reveals the extraordinary lengths Coleen went to, she claims, to prove that no one other that Rebekah or those close to her could have passed on the information.
Coleen and Rebekah are due to meet each other at the High Court in next year after Rebekah sued her for defamation.
In bombshell court documents Coleen Rooney details the lengths she claims she went to prove that no one other that Rebekah Vardy or those close to her could have passed on information about her in their Wagatha Christie row
Coleen reveals the extraordinary lengths she went to, she claims, to prove that no one other that Rebekah Vardy (above) or those close to her could have passed on the information
Coleen Rooney, wife of Wayne Rooney (bottom left) and Rebekah Vardy, (middle) wife of Jamie Vardy, attend the UEFA EURO 2016 Group B match between England v Wales on June 16, 2016 in Lens, France
Rebekah Vardy (right) made a tearful appearance on Loose Women last year after Coleen Rooney released her statement on social media
Coleen’s lawyers lodged her stinging defence in 55 pages to the High Court earlier today insisting that her claims are true
A spokesman for Coleen Rooney said of the document: ‘Coleen has always been confident of her position, although she takes no pleasure in now having to set out in public court documents the reasons why.
‘It remains a matter of deep regret to her that Rebekah seems determined to persist with court action despite Coleen’s offers of private mediation. Coleen believes the money being spent could be put to much better use in these times.’
In spikey defence against her former friend, Coleen accuses Rebekah of having a history of close relationships with journalists and habitually passing on private information to promote herself.
She accuses Vardy of being The Sun’s ‘Secret Wag’ as well as being a serial leaker of Coleen’s information to the media.
The sensational claim in a blistering legal document, filed at the High Court, describes Vardy as having an ‘established history and habitual practice of providing private information to journalists’.
The legal defence filed by Coleen’s lawyers makes it clear she stands by every word of the Tweets and Instagram posts which prompted Vardy, 38, to launch a libel case against her in the High Court.
And despite stories earlier this week suggesting that Coleen was keen to call off the whole case, the new development makes it clear that the 34-year-old wife of former England striker Wayne Rooney is determined to see her WAG rival in court.
The paper goes into granular detail, naming names of journalists and showbiz agents who Vardy allegedly was in contact with over various leaked stories.
The defence document refers to ‘The Claimant’s [Vardy’s] established history and habitual practice of providing private information to journalists and the press, including The Sun and The Sun on Sunday newspapers, with whom she has especially close relationships.
‘The Claimant sometimes provided this directly, sometimes anonymously (under the
pseudonym, ‘the Secret Wag’, a regular gossip column in The Sun for which she was the source, despite her denying this) and sometimes through third parties who were acting as approved or condoned by her.’
The ‘Wagatha Christie’ saga began a year ago when Coleen claimed in a tweet that she had restricted access to her stories in a bid to find out who was leaking tales about her personal life.
She then posted her findings with the line: ‘It’s . . . Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
Rebekah Vardy and husband Jamie pictured on Instagram. The wife of Leicester City and England footballer told in a bombshell legal document how she had been left suicidal by the accusation that she had leaked stories about Coleen and her family
Paul Lunt, solicitor to Coleen Rooney and head of litigation at law firm Brabners, said: ‘We confirm our client, Coleen Rooney has now filed her defence to the High Court to proceedings which Rebekah Vardy has chosen to bring.
‘Coleen’s defence makes clear why, from the outset, she has been entirely confident in her position. She remains surprised and disappointed at Mrs Vardy’s decision to initiate these proceedings and to continue to pursue these matters through the courts.
‘Coleen has always said that this could and should have been resolved face to face without the need for court proceedings. Through Brabners, she has repeatedly offered Mrs Vardy the opportunity to meet face to face to resolve their differences. These offers have included the assistance of a professional, independent mediator and remain open. So far at least, Mrs Vardy and her legal team have preferred instead to pursue these issues in court.
‘Accordingly, Coleen’s defence document has been filed as part of the court process requiring her to provide details on her position.
‘Although Coleen’s defence is necessarily a public document, out of respect to the court process, she will not make any comment on the issues it addresses. She reiterates her long-standing view that time and money spent on this legal case could and should be better used.’
‘The Claimant [Vardy] acted in this way for the purposes of promoting herself and/or financially exploiting her public profile, particularly as the partner of the well-known footballer, Jamie Vardy. ‘
Coleen’s lawyers go on to claim that her post about Vardy was a ‘legitmate matter of public interest’, saying ‘ The fact that information from her private Instagram account had been provided to and published in The Sun newspaper for millions of people to read was an issue which the Defendant was forced to make public on her social media.
Rebekah revealed how Coleen’s (pictured during the Wayne Rooney testimonial match in August 2016) public denunciation of her on Instagram while she was seven months pregnant had ‘gravely injured her reputation’, and had ‘exposed her to public ridicule and contempt’
‘Her Post was necessary because the very public disclosure of her private information had continued despite previous warnings she had put out publicly that someone with access to her private Instagram account was providing this information to The Sun for it to publish.
‘After careful investigation, the Defendant established that information from her private account which was published by the newspaper had only been accessible to and shared with the Claimant (through her Instagram account).
‘No credible or verified ‘alternative’ explanation has been provided by the Claimant as to how the Defendant’s private information, which was shared only with her (through her Instagram account), could have been and was in fact given to The Sun. ‘
Rebekah (left) and Coleen (left in front) pictured at the England vs Wales match in France in 2016 (pictured right, the duo celebrating)
Coleen’s papers respond to a point raised by Vardy’s lawyers who pointed out as part of their claim that her reputation suffered ‘serious harm’ that her name was ‘trending’ on Google following Coleen’s posts – even exceeding interest in Brexit. Rooney’s lawyers reply: ‘It is not a helpful comparator, nor a useful means by which to assess serious harm.
The Claimant has previously exceeded interest in Brexit on Google Trends on several occasions…Indeed, for a time on Google Trends, around the same time as the Post, interest in the breakfast cereal Corn Flakes exceeded that in Brexit.’
The full statement: Coleen made these shock claims on Instagram after discovering she had been betrayed by someone close to her and she concluded that it was Rebekah Vardy’s account
‘I don’t need the money’: Rebekah denied all accusations against her minutes after the post and said she had nothing to gain and had no financial motivation – she also slammed her for going public when she is heavily pregnant
The wife of Leicester City and England footballer Jamie Vardy (left) told in a bombshell legal document how she had been left suicidal by the accusation that she had leaked stories about Coleen (right) and her family.
Drama: Coleen’s WAG pals are reportedly ‘freaking out’ that Rebekah may have leaked private information about them (Coleen picturedi n 2018)
Rebekah Vardy and husband Jamie on Instagram. The document says Rebekah believes she ‘has deliberately been made a scape goat (sic) by the Defendant (Coleen) for past ‘leaked’ stories’
The full explosive documents detailing the warring WAGs £1million libel battle…
