LONDON, Could 10 (Reuters) – A libel trial pitting the wives of two former England soccer strikers Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy noticed Vardy’s spouse Rebekah take the stand on Tuesday and deny accusations she had leaked tales to the press about Rooney’s spouse Coleen.
Their battle, mixing glamour, beginner sleuthing and intimate revelations has gripped the media and public.
Coleen Rooney, 36, is the spouse of former England ace Wayne who holds the file for essentially the most worldwide targets for his nation, and Rebekah Vardy’s husband Jamie has additionally performed and scored for the nationwide aspect
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Vardy, 40, is suing her former good friend for libel after Rooney accused her of leaking tales about her after staging an elaborate sting operation to seek out out who was passing on particulars of her non-public life to the Solar tabloid.
The battle has been dubbed the “WAGatha Christie” case, a reference to the “WAG” moniker given to the glamorous group of footballers’ wives and girlfriends and Rooney’s detective work.
“I did not leak something,” Vardy instructed London’s Excessive Court docket, on the primary day of the trial, having handed by Rooney and her husband to achieve the witness field. “I did not give any data to a newspaper.”
The intrigue started nearly three years in the past when Rooney grew to become suspicious about tales showing within the Solar involving details about her from her private Instagram account. She turned detective to attempt to discover out who the wrongdoer was.
She mentioned she blocked everybody from viewing her account besides one particular person after which posted a sequence of false tales to see whether or not they leaked out, which she mentioned they’d.
She wrote on her social media accounts that just one particular person had considered the false tales, concluding with the revelation: “It is … Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Dealing with questions from David Sherborne, Rooney’s lawyer, Vardy agreed leaking non-public, private data was improper. She was then quizzed a few 2004 newspaper interview she had given during which she detailed a sexual encounter with singer Peter Andre with derogatory particulars about his genitalia.
“I used to be pressured into doing one thing I did not wish to do,” she instructed the packed wood-panelled courtroom, blaming her ex-husband for making her do the interview. “It was one thing that I used to be pressured to say.”
‘CAN WE LEAK A STORY?’
Sherborne additionally requested her a few message trade she had together with her agent Caroline Watt in 2017 about photoshopped photographs of an unnamed good friend to make her look thinner during which Vardy mentioned: “Can we not leak a narrative?”
Vardy instructed the court docket she “did not imply it to say that” and she or he had needed to do a narrative about selling constructive physique picture.
Earlier Hugh Tomlinson, Vardy’s lawyer, had mentioned his shopper had acquired abuse and threats on-line, after Rooney’s put up – constructed he mentioned like a “mini-whodunnit” – had been appreciated by 193,000 individuals on Instagram and 300,000 on Twitter.
“She wants to have the ability to clear her identify,” Tomlinsonsaid.
Sherborne argued Vardy had performed a marketing campaign of “deliberate destruction of proof” by deleting media recordsdata and WhatsApp messages.
“Like all good detective story, you by no means discover the particular person accountable standing over the physique with the smoking gun in her hand,” Sherborne mentioned.
He recommended that Vardy had used her agent Watt as a “hitman” to leak the tales on her behalf. Vardy has accepted that Watt is likely to be accountable, however denied any data or authorising her to take action, Tomlinson mentioned.
“She accepts that it is potential that Ms Watt was the supply,” he instructed the court docket.
In a plot twist of which Agatha Christie herself might need accredited, Watt’s telephone had ended up on the backside of the North Sea after she unintentionally dropped it over the aspect of a ship.
The trial is because of final seven days with Rooney, who should show that her accusations are both considerably true or within the public curiosity, and her husband resulting from give proof.
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Modifying by Raissa Kasolowsky and Alexandra Hudson
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