Coleen Rooney says costly Vardy case ‘should never have gone to court in times of such hardship’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Coleen Rooney said in a statement that she was “pleased” the ruling went in her favour.

She added that she “never believed” the case 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”

Ms Vardy, 40, sued Ms Rooney, 36, for defamation after she publicly accused her of being the source of stories that were leaked to The Sun newspaper.

In October 2019, the wife of former England star Wayne Rooney published a post on her social media accounts saying she had carried out a months-long “sting operation” and accused Ms Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the press.

Ms Rooney’s statement continued: “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 (Rebekah) Vardy.

“This left me with no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun.

“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.

“Finally, I would like to thank all of my legal team, my family, friends and everyone who supported me, including the public, through this difficult and stressful time.”

The judge said in her ruling it was “likely” that Ms 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.”

During the trial, the two women each gave evidence, as did former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.

Referring to Ms Rooney's viral “reveal” post at the end of the trial, her barrister David Sherborne told the court: “It is what she believed at the time... and it is what she believes even more so now that we have got to the end of the case.”

Ms Steyn said in her ruling: “In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to The Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true.”