Rebekah Vardy has accepted that her agent could have leaked stories about Coleen Rooney, as the Wagatha Christie trial came to an end today.
In his closing statement, the WAG’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC told the court that his client is a victim, and that she now accepts the possibility Caroline Watt, who had access to her Instagram account, may have been behind the leaks.
He told the court, “She does not know to this day what happened,” before adding that “it is possible, she accepts, that the source of the leak was Caroline Watt.”
Hugh continued: “Mrs Vardy has obviously made mistakes. One of them, the most serious, was to trust someone she shouldn’t have [referring to her agent Caroline Watt].”
“Another is the way she talked in private conversations with Ms Watt. She accepts she said things which, had she known they would come out in public, she would not have said.”
“This is a case about Mrs Vardy and the way she has been treated by thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people on social media… this goes on to this day. Even during this trial she’s continued to receive abuse on social media.”
“Throughout this case, she (Mrs Vardy) has sought to find out the position. The very first thing she said to Mrs Rooney was ‘send me the evidence, send me the posts. The suggestion that she is trying to hide something is quite wrong.”
Hugh said that Rebekah’s libel dispute with Coleen was a “very simple case” when “one clears away the conspiracy theories.”
He added that Rebekah would have to be “very clever or very cynical” to have deleted her WhatsApp back-ups, and also dismissed claims Rebekah deleted “incriminating” messages.
Hugh added: “Has Mrs Rooney proved that Mrs Vardy leaked the information from her post that she’s accused of leaking?”
“Mrs Vardy’s case is and always has been that she did not leak the information nor did she authorise anyone else to leak. She does not know to this day what happened. She does not know where this information came from.”
Rebekah’s barrister concluded that she wanted to be “vindicated” and that she was not the person who leaked Coleen’s private information.
He also talked about the “negative impact” the case has had on Rebekah, as he said: “The media is full of jokes about this case.”
“This is a case about Mrs Vardy and the way that she has been treated by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people on social media. She has been subjected to abuse that goes on to this day.”
Hugh talked about the abusive messages Rebekah has received during the trial, and said: “This is about her trying to do something about that so she can move on with her life.”
Despite Caroline Watt’s involvement in the case, Rebekah’s former agent failed to appear in court for the libel trial.
However, the 40-year-old’s barrister insisted she did everything she could to get Ms Watt before the court, and even obtained a witness statement from her.
However, the statement was withdrawn “at the eleventh hour” due to “health reasons”.
A large chunk of Coleen’s evidence in court over the past week was based on WhatsApp messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt.
However, they were unable to retrieve potential key messages from a phone owned by Caroline.
Last summer, Ms Watt accidentally dropped her mobile phone into the North Sea during a boat trip, shortly after a legal request was made to search the device for potential evidence.
The incident was described as “most unfortunate” by Coleen’s legal team at the time, and her barrister brought up the missing phone during his closing statement today.
David Sherborne claimed the missing phone incident was “far from an accident”, and alleged it was part of a concerted effort by Rebekah to “cover up incriminating evidence”.
He said Rebekah had a long history of giving stories to The Sun newspaper, and suggested it was “nonsensical” that she did not try to to pass on information about Coleen.
Coleen’s lawyer also insisted Rebekah was equally responsible for leaking the information, even if it was her agent who was actually sending the messages.
“She is not concerned about doing the dirty – just concerned about being seen to have done it,” he told the court.
“Mrs Rooney didn’t want to go through a trial, nor did her husband, who described the effect it has had on them and their family.”
“Anyone could be forgiven for wondering why on earth this case has been allowed to get this far.”
The Wagatha Christie trial concluded with their respective barristers closing arguments today, with the judge expected to make a decision at a later date.
Wayne and Coleen Rooney skipped the final day of the trial, which prompted an apology from their lawyer David Sherbourne this morning.
Their barrister told court that the couple had a “long-standing travel arrangement” with their kids, and they intended “no disrespect” by not being present for the final day of the trial.
Mr Sherbourne said they believed the trial would be over by Thursday, and judge Mrs Justice Steyn said: “I don’t take offence”.
Rebekah launched her libel suit against Coleen back in 2020, after she accused her of leaking false stories to the press.
In October 2019, the wife of Wayne Rooney claimed she planted false information on her private Instagram page and blocked everyone from her story – except Rebekah’s account.
The mother-of-four said stories about her basement flooding, returning to TV, and gender selection were only viewed by Rebekah’s account – and the false stories all made it into the press.
Coleen believed this was proof that the fellow WAG allegedly sold stories about her private life, but Rebekah has vehemently denied her claims – and is now suing her for libel.
Rooney defended the claim in court on the basis her post was “substantially true”.
