Rebekah Vardy news – live: Coleen Rooney’s ex-friend cries in dock over online abuse
Wife of Leicester City star continues to give evidence in High Court libel trial
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Rebekah Vardy was in tears in the witness box as she was questioned about the online abuse that she and her family have received.
Coleen Rooney’s lawyer David Sherborne referenced online rape threats against Ms Vardy’s daughter, which prompted the reality start to start crying and wipe away tears from her eyes.
She grabbed a number of tissues and started dabbing at her face but insisted she didn’t need to take a break from her cross-examination.
Vardy has told the court this morning that she directed her agent to look at Coleen Rooney’s private Instagram posts after she was involved in a car crash.
The wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is continuing to give evidence at the High Court in her libel trial against Ms Rooney, the wife of former England captain Wayne.
The court was told how in a January 2019 exchange, Ms Vardy’s agent, Caroline Watt, asked her: “Am I imagining this or did you say yesterday that Coleen had crashed her Honda?” the court heard.
“She defo has ... Go in the Instagram,” Ms Vardy replied, according to court documents.
Coleen Rooney thought Rebekah Vardy was ‘Lady Whistledown’ from Bridgerton
Ms Vardy’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson told the court his client was not behind the Secret Wag column in The Sun.
He said: “Mrs Rooney thinks the Secret Wag column is a real life version of Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton, rather than a journalistic invention.”
Geolocation data shows no evidence of unknown devices accessing Vardy’s social media
Coleen Rooney’s barrister said the defence’s expert had found geolocation data showed there was no evidence of any “inexplicable devices” accessing Ms Vardy’s Instagram account.
He told the trial: “It has to be Mrs Vardy or Mrs Watt, there is now no alternative candidate put forward.”
Coleen Rooney ‘didn’t intend for Rebekah Vardy to receive awful abuse'
David Sherborne said Ms Rooney didn’t intend for Rebekah Vardy to receive the abuse she did after posting the accusation online.
He said some of the abusive posts Ms Vardy received were “awful, and not what (Mrs Rooney) intended at all”.
The barrister said there had been a “series of unfortunate or … improbable events” in the case, and that Ms Rooney remained convinced her allegation in the post complained of was true, which is why she has not apologised.
‘Vardy’s reaction ... shows she was responsible for the leaks'
David Sherborne said that Rebekah Vardy's case has changed since her original claim.
"What was said at the time about possible alternatives is now not put forward by Mrs Vardy and that is because she and Ms Watt concocted a series of lies at the time," he told the court.
The barrister said it was "particularly telling" how Mrs Vardy and Caroline Watt reacted when Coleen Rooney said she suspected someone had leaked an incorrect story about a car crash, arguing they were "spooked".
"It is Mrs Vardy's reaction to this that shows she was responsible for the leaks," Mr Sherborne said.
Rebekah Vardy had the ‘means, opportunity and motive’
Coleen Rooney’s barrister has said Rebekah Vardy had the “means, opportunity and motive” to be responsible for leaking the fake stories from Ms Rooney’s Instagram account.
Mr Sherborne told the court: “In short, we say Mrs Vardy had the means, she had the opportunity with her links to The Sun, and she had the motive to secretly pass on information from Mrs Rooney’s account.
“Mrs Vardy is responsible for the secret passing on if the information that is the subject of this case.”
Rebekah Vardy called to give evidence
Rebekah Vardy has just been called by her barrister to give evidence on the witness stand.
Speaking softly from the witness stand, Vardy gave her full name as Rebekah Vardy.
Her barrister has just taken her through a folder containing her signed witness statements.
David Sherborne asked Ms Vardy whether she would agree that leaking other people’s information that they didn’t want to be made public is bad.
She replied: “Yes.”
Mr Sherborne said: “One of the reasons it’s bad is because it shows you don’t respect the fact that person didn’t want it to be released.”
Ms Vardy replied: “Yes, but I didn’t leak it”.
Mr Sherborne asked: “Would you say you respect other people’s privacy?”
Ms Vardy responded: “Yes, I do.”
Ms Rooney’s barrister is now asking Ms Vardy about an interview she gave to The News of the World the time she reportedly had sex with singer Peter Andre.
Vardy says she ‘deeply regrets’ interview about Peter Andre
Ms Vardy told the court she had been forced into saying something about the size of Peter Andre’s manhood during the interview.
Asked whether she asked Mr Andrew permission first before the article was published, she replied: “I was forced into it.”
Mr Sherborne asked: “Did you tell him you were going to do it?”
Ms Vardy replied: “No.”
She told the court she went through a “terrible, terrible relationship” and the interview was something she “deeply regrets”.
Ms Vardy said: “This is something I deeply regret and something that is very much a part of my past.”
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