Defiant Rebekah Vardy insists she did not leak Danielle Lloyd pregnancy news in ‘revenge’ over WAG spat
DEFIANT Rebekah Vardy has insisted she didn't leak news of Danielle Lloyd's pregnancy news as "revenge" over a WAG spat in new court documents.
Her legal team branded the claim "absurd" in a 59-page document to the High Court countering Coleen Rooney's defence in the Wagatha Christie case.
They deny that Becky, 38, leaked information about model Danielle, 36, when she fell pregnant.
Danielle had appeared on Loose Women in 2017 to have her baby’s sex revealed live on air, the court document said,
Afterwards, the mid-wife at the clinic where Danielle had the sex
of her unborn child determined sent a message to Becky claiming Danielle already known the gender of the baby before the programme.
Becky "immediately told Ms Lloyd about the message" and "did not leak this information to the press", her legal team said.
'ABSURD AND WRONG'
Documents filed by Becky's legal team say: "The inference that the Claimant disclosed Ms Lloyd’s medical information to third parties is misconceived and wrong.
"The suggestion that this disclosure was “revenge” for comments
made by Ms Lloyd is absurd and wrong."
Becky is suing Coleen for libel for claiming that she leaked stories to the Press.
Her lawyers dismantled Coleen's defence in the document submitted to the High Court in the Wagatha Christie row,
The formal 'reply' was issued ahead of last-minute peace talks between the warring wags.
It is hoped the summit, which will be held at a neutral venue, will avert a costly five-day libel trial next Summer.
In the coming days lawyers for both sides will thrash out an agreement on the mediator, the venue and a date for the face-to-face talks.
Becky, 38, wife of Leicester City ace Jamie, 33, will occupy one room with her lawyers.
Coleen, 34, whose hubby is ex-England and Manchester United legend Wayne, 34, will be with her team in another.
A third room will be used for face-to-face talks aimed at brokering a deal to avoid a five-day libel trial next year.
They have until February 8 to reach a truce or will have to face off at the High Court.
The eleventh-hour peace talks come after we told how Coleen was growing in confidence amid their battle.
She is said to have been approached by a mole within Becky's camp who is prepared to give evidence under oath.
The insider claims to have "intimate knowledge" of alleged leaks to the Press and is willing to reveal all.
Coleen has told friends Becky will be left "blindsided" by the big reveal should their fallout end up in court.
She is currently 2-0 down in their bitter dispute.
First, a judge ruled in Becky's favour at a preliminary hearing on Coleen's now infamous post in October 2019.
The post detailed her detective work to identify the source of the leak.
But Mr Justice Warby said the carefully considered message did not reveal "reasonable grounds" for suspicion, but directly pointed the finger at mum-of-five Becky.
His ruling means Coleen must now prove that Becky alone was responsible for the leaks if she is to successfully defend the lawsuit.
In a further blow he ordered Coleen to pay Becky's £22,913.50 legal costs for the hearing.
A spokesman for Coleen said she remains "confident" of successfully defending the libel case.
He said: "A number of people have been in touch with Coleen to offer support and information.
"She remains as confident as she always has been of winning her case, should it ever reach a full court hearing – something she has never wanted."
But Charlotte Harris, of Becky's legal firm Kingsley Napley, denied any suggestion of a mole.
She added: "There can be no 'mystery witness' to something that did not happen.
"The simple fact is that Rebekah Vardy did not leak Coleen Rooney’s private Instagram posts to the Sun and nothing can change that.
"This case will be resolved through the proper legal process."
The row kicked off in October 2019 when Coleen told her millions of social media followers she had turned detective after suspecting stories were being leaked.
She revealed that she had blocked all but one account from her private Instagram feed.
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She said: "After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Coleen claimed she then posted a string of false stories to see if they would be published, which they were.
All the stories which were subsequently printed in The Sun were put to Coleen's representatives for comment.
