Coleen Rooney

Rather than clearing name, ruling leaves Vardy with legal defeat and destroyed reputation.

However, they defended the claim on two grounds: first, that the accusation was true based on circumstantial evidence available to Rooney; and, second, that it was in the public interest for Rooney to make the accusation against Vardy. Vardy’s own copy of the same messages was lost while in the process of backing them up. This covered everything from her history of selling kiss-and-tell stories to tabloids about the singer Peter Andre, allegations she had leaked details of her husband’s relationship with his team-mates, and her own record of passing information to The Sun newspaper.

It was Rebekah Vardy who took Coleen Rooney to court, saying she had suffered "very serious harm to her reputation" as a result of allegations that she had ...

Rooney defended the claim on the basis it was true and in the public interest for her to publish it. Wayne Rooney was among the witnesses who gave evidence and supported his wife in the courtroom every day. The judge said: "It was evident that Ms Vardy found the process of giving evidence stressful and, at times, distressing. for such vitriol." She went on: "It's sad it's come this far… However, any damages are usually swallowed up by legal costs. In her judgment, Judge Justice Steyn described Vardy's evidence as "manifestly inconsistent... evasive or implausible". She did not give evidence during the hearing. In her judgment, the judge referred to some of the " vile abuse" Vardy had received online - which had included a message which someone said her baby should be incinerated - she said there was no "justification or excuse... While the judge found that Vardy had disclosed private information, she said she believed Vardy had felt "genuinely offended" by Rooney's accusation, employing "a degree of self-deception" to minimise her role in the leak. Despite the court finding that Rooney's reveal post "was on a matter of public interest", the judge ruled that it couldn't be used as part of her defence because she not take "steps to put the allegation to Ms Vardy and give her an opportunity to respond".

Judge Justice Steyn said she accepted that Coleen Rooneys reveal post was a matter of public interest due to the undesirable practice of information about ...

Wayne Rooney was among the witnesses who gave evidence and supported his wife in the courtroom every day. The judge said: "It was evident that Mrs Vardy found the process of giving evidence stressful and, at times, distressing. for such vitriol." She went on: "It's sad it's come this far… However, in the written argument for Rooney, 36, barrister David Sherborne said his client felt "absolutely confident" in the investigation she conducted to find the source of the leaks and that her "authentication was as thorough as many newsrooms". She did not give evidence during the hearing. The 40-year-old suffered "immense distress" as a result of Rooney's allegations and "had no choice" but to take her to court "to establish her innocence and vindicate her reputation", Mr Tomlinson said. evasive or implausible". In her judgment, the judge referred to some of the " vile abuse" Vardy had received online - which had included a message which someone said her baby should be incinerated - she said there was no "justification or excuse... I bear in mind when assessing her evidence the degree of stress she was naturally feeling, given the high-profile nature of the trial, the abuse that she has suffered since the reveal post was published, and the length of time she was in the witness box." In her judgment, Judge Justice Steyn said Rooney had succeeded in establishing that the essence of her social media post was "substantially true" - that's to say Vardy was responsible for leaking her private information to the press. In her conclusion, she said: "I have found that Ms Vardy was party to the disclosure to The Sun... Ms Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the Private Instagram Account, sending her screenshots of Ms Rooney's posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt."