Blow for Coleen Rooney as she’s refused permission to bring claim against Rebekah Vardy’s agent
Wife of former England star Wayne Rooney embroiled in legal battle after publicly accusing Vardy of leaking ‘false stories’ to The Sun newspaper
Coleen Rooney has failed in her bid to bring a High Court claim against Rebekah Vardy’s agent as part of an ongoing legal battle between the footballers’ wives.
Ms Vardy, the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, is suing Ms Rooney for libel after she was publicly accused of leaking “false stories” about her to the press.
The wife of former England star Wayne Rooney earned the nickname “Wagatha Christie” after deliberately posting made-up stories on her Instagram page during a months-long “sting operation” to catch the source of the alleged leaks.
In an October 2019 Twitter post, Ms Rooney, 35, accused Ms Vardy, 39, of leaking stories about her private life to The Sun.
Her lawyers previously claimed Ms Vardy had leaked information to the newspaper either directly or through her agent Caroline Watt “acting on her instruction or with her knowing approval”.
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Ms Vardy denies the allegations and is suing Ms Rooney for libel. Ms Watt also denies the accusations.
Ms Rooney asked for permission to bring an additional claim against Ms Watt for misuse of private information during a two-day High Court hearing last week.
Ms Justice Steyn on Monday refused permission for the additional claim against Ms Watt and also refused permission for it to be heard alongside the libel trial.
But Ms Rooney was given permission to amend her defence case to include the allegation that Ms Vardy, through Ms Watt, provided information to The Sun about an unnamed professional footballer.
The judge also gave permission for WhatsApp messages exchanged between Ms Vardy and Ms Watt during the “relevant period” to be disclosed ahead of a trial and also granted Ms Rooney’s application for an order that both parties make a joint request for information to Instagram.
She refused other disclosure applications made by both Ms Vardy and Ms Rooney.