WARRING WAGS
Judge to rule on first stage of Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s courtroom showdown TODAY
A TOP judge will rule on the first stage of Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney's blockbuster Wagatha Christie row today.
Coleen turned detective in October last year and accused Rebekah of sharing stories from her personal Instagram account.
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Lawyers yesterday went head-to-head today in the first High Court hearing ahead of a libel trial next year.
Coleen's team were asked to explain exactly what she meant in the Instagram post when she accused Rebekah of being the leak.
A judge will today decide the "natural and ordinary" meaning of Coleen’s post and set down the parameters for the women’s libel trial.
Mr Justice Warby is due to deliver his ruling at 2pm.
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In the infamous post, Coleen, 34, said she posted a string of false stories via her Instagram account with restricted access to see if they appeared in the media, which they did.
She then said the fake stories had only been viewed by one person, and ended dramatically: “It’s . . . Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah, who was heavily pregnant at the time, denied the allegations and claimed several people had access to her account.
Court documents say Coleen accused Rebekah's account of leaking the stories, not the mum herself.
They state: "The source of the leaks of the Defendant’s private information was the Claimant’s account.
"The emphasis of “except ONE account” (with capital letters) and the final words of the post make clear that the responsibility lies with a particular account.
"As a result of this, a reasonable reader would conclude that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the Claimant had leaked the information herself, but the finger is pointed firmly at the account, not the Claimant herself."
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But the court was told Coleen's description of her "detective process" on the original post was "to find the true villain of the piece".
Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Rebekah, said: "The person is Rebekah Vardy, the finger is being pointed at her, as the villain, the person, the someone, the one person."
The High Court also heard the pair's lawyers have agreed to meet for one final attempt to resolve the case and avoid a £1million blockbuster battle played out to the world.
The court was told the offer of a stay until February 8 came from Rebekah, who brought the libel case in the first place.
But Coleen's lawyer says she tried countless times to speak with Rebekah to avoid a trial and believes it never should have gone to court.
David Sherborne said: "The time and expense on this litigation at a time of life-changing events for everyone could be better spent.
"But she has no choice."
Coleen had reportedly wanted to avoid going to court, but after her legal team filed a 55-page document last month it indicated the showdown would go ahead.
The papers show she stands by the accusations made on social media that Rebekah leaked stories about her to journalists.
She claims Rebekah had an "established history and habitual practice of providing private information to journalists and the press".
But Rebekah says in her written claim she "suffered extreme distress, hurt, anxiety and embarrassment as a result of the publication of the post and the events which followed".
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The Wag also claimed she worried she would lose her baby and says she "continues to suffer severe and extreme hostility and abuse as a result of the post".
READ MORE SUN STORIES
All the stories which were subsequently printed in The Sun were put to Coleen’s reps for comment prior to publication.
The libel case at the High Court is due to take place next year.
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Becky Vardy vows to ‘clear her name’ in Wagatha Christie court battle with Coleen Rooney
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