Coleen Rooney leaves hotel with husband Wayne for day three of Wagatha Christie
Rebekah Vardy was dramatically accused of lying today after she blamed heavy drinking for failing to remember the details of a 2018 World Cup paparazzi photo she allegedly helped to set up – as the Wagatha Christie libel trial entered its third day.
The wife of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is facing claims she conspired with her agent Caroline Watt to arrange for a photographer to wait outside a restaurant in St Petersburg where she and nine fellow WAGs were enjoying a meal.
She denied the allegation this morning. But when asked for details by David Sherborne – acting for her rival Coleen Rooney – she said: ‘If I’m completely honest I had been drinking quite a bit.’
Mr Sherborne cuttingly replied: ‘I would hope you’re honest because you’re sitting in a witness box.’
He then added: ‘Mrs Vardy, this is the first time that you have suggested that your recollection of events has been affected by drinking – that’s a lie, isn’t it?’
The Wagatha Christie case centres around a 2019 social media post by Coleen, 36, in which she said she had planted fake stories on her private Instagram account and accused Rebekah of leaking them to The Sun newspaper.
Rebekah, 40, denied the claim, and launched a libel case when Coleen refused to take down the post.
This morning, Mr Sherborne quizzed Rebekah about a series of messages she exchanged with her agent, Caroline Watt, which allegedly show them working together to organise the 2018 World Cup paparazzi photo.
The group of WAGs in the snap included Marcus Rashford’s girlfriend Lucia Loi, Kyle Walker’s partner Annie Kilner and Harry Maguire’s fiancee Fern Hawkins – who was left ‘upset and embarrassed’.
Rebekah said Ms Watt had arranged for a photographer to take pictures of her as she left her hotel, but denied giving the photographer the location of either the hotel or the restaurant where the WAGs were having dinner.
The court heard Rebekah texted Ms Watt about travel arrangements from the hotel to the restaurant. There were exchanges about last minute changes in travel arrangements on the night.
Mr Sherborne suggested that a message to Ms Watt which said ‘I have bought about 10 minutes’ referred to the fact Rebekah was delaying some of the women from posting a group photograph on social media because a photographer hiding in the bushes by the hotel had taken a picture of them all and they ‘didn’t want to lose their exclusive’.
In response, Rebekah said, ‘Well, it reads like that’ but said she ‘couldn’t recall’ the details due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed. ‘The plans changed,’ she added. ‘I recall it may have been raining. No one wants to walk when they’re dressed up in the rain.’
Mr Sherborne accused Rebekah of changing her story about what happened, and reminded her that she had signed a statement of truth when she made legal declarations, risking a contempt of court action if she lied.
‘You can’t get your story straight,’ he said to her, adding that this was ‘because you’re lying’.
Mr Sherborne asked Rebekah why she was ‘pulling a face’ when he said he was going to refer to a witness statement made by the FA’s family liaison officer, Harpreet Robertson.
Rebekah – who has claimed the representative took an instant dislike to her – said: ‘Because it was Ms Robertson again.’
Quoting from the statement Mr Sherborne Ms Robertson said other members of the group and a member of the England squad were upset that they had been ‘set up’ as they were not looking to court publicity.
Rebekah replied: ‘This is the first that I’ve heard of it.’
Opening today’s case, Mr Sherborne joked Rebekah had been ‘saved by the bell’ after a brutal cross-examination that at one point reduced her to tears was cut short by a fire alarm yesterday.
Among the key developments on day three of the gripping case –
- Coleen’s barrister begins cross examination by joking Rebekah had been ‘saved by the bell’ after a fire alarm cut short yesterday’s proceedings;
- Accuses her of lying after she said her memory of a 2018 paparazzi photo she allegedly set up had been affected by ‘drinking quite a bit’;
- Rebekah denies branding herself ‘the unofficial leader of the WAGs’ in Sun interview about axing of ‘sex ban’ for England stars during Russia World Cup;
- WAGs ‘had to wash their own clothes in the SINK at the hotel during the 2018 World Cup in Russia’, Rebekah claims;
- Rebekah denies leaking information about Coleen’s 2019 car crash in Washington DC to the media after seeing story on her private Instagram;
Rebekah was once again accompanied by a security team as she entered the High Court for another day at the witness stand
Coleen, dressed all in black and carrying a Chanel handbag, looked relaxed as she stepped out of a black cab with her husband Wayne behind in his signature navy suit with a leather handbag containing a bulging file
Today, Rebekah denied setting up this 2018 paparazzi photo. It was taken outside a restaurant in St Petersburg and features, from left to right: Millie Savage, Gemma Acton, Megan Davison, Rebekah Vardy, Annabelle Peyton, Fern Hawkins, Shannon Horlock, Annie Kilner and Lucia Loi
The Rooneys smiled for the cameras as they walked up to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice to be greeted by a throng of photographers
Rebekah arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice wearing a blue and white patterned dress under a blue blazer
As the toxic feud between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy spilled out in public for a third day, here is a summary of the evidence as it was heard in court:
‘I’d been drinking quite a bit’: Barrister accuses Rebekah of lying about World Cup paparazzi photo ‘she set up’
Coleen’s barrister asked Rebekah a series of questions about a controversial photo of a group of WAGs at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. She has been accused of helping to set up the snap for publicity purposes – angering her fellow footballers’ wives.
Mr Sherborne referred to a message exchange between Rebekah and her agent Ms Watt, in which the agent said she had ‘got a photographer sorted for tomorrow’ and Mrs Vardy replied ‘OK’.
Rebekah said Ms Watt had arranged for a photographer to take pictures of her as she left her hotel, but denied giving the photographer the location of either the hotel or a restaurant she went to the same evening with a group of the England team’s wives and girlfriends.
She said she was ‘happy’ to be photographed leaving the hotel but claimed that updates she sent to Ms Watt when plans changed throughout the evening were not because she was working with the agent to arrange a ‘pap shot’ of the group as they left the restaurant.
Mr Sherborne suggested that a message to Ms Watt which said ‘I have bought about 10 minutes’ referred to the fact Rebekah was delaying some of the women from posting a group photograph on social media because a photographer hiding in the bushes had taken a picture of them all and they ‘didn’t want to lose their exclusive’.
In response, Rebekah said: ‘Well, it reads like that, I don’t recall it like that and if I’m being honest … I had been drinking.’
Mr Sherborne replied: ‘I would hope you’re honest because you’re sitting in a witness box.’
He then added: ‘Mrs Vardy, this is the first time that you have suggested that your recollection of events has been affected by drinking – that’s a lie, isn’t it?’
During a further exchange with Mr Sherborne, Rebekah again denied having orchestrated the photograph, adding: ‘If I had intentionally arranged the picture … I would quite happily admit that I had.’
She said that, by replying as she did to Ms Watt, she was ‘just trying to get her off my back actually and enjoy my evening, it had been quite a crazy few days.’
Rebekah’s witness statements were repeatedly revised ahead of the libel trial, the High Court has heard.
Mr Sherborne told the court elements of her witness statement which related to the alleged staged photo with other wives and girlfriends in Russia in June 2018 had varied throughout the disclosure process.
Reading her original witness statement, he said: ”The claimant had nothing to do with the photograph which was published in The Sun on June 26 2018. She did not arrange a photographer to be present and received no payment’. You didn’t arrange a photograph?
‘Yes, that’s true’, she replied.
He continued: ‘So, you changed your case.’
Reading an amended statement from July 2021, he said: ‘You say this: ‘The claimant did not orchestrate the picture that was published in The Sun’.
‘What’s gone from that is that you no longer say you had nothing to do with the photograph that was published.’
Rebekah then said Mr Sherborne was ‘confusing’ her when asked if both statements were true, before later going on to say: ‘Sometimes you make mistakes.’
Mr Sherborne said: ‘The reason you have not got your story straight is because you were lying.’
‘No, I wasn’t’, she responded.
WAGs ‘had to wash their own clothes in the SINK at the hotel during the 2018 World Cup in Russia’, Rebekah claims
Rebekah has claimed that she and her fellow WAGs had to wash their own clothes in the sink at their hotel during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The High Court heard that Rebekah gave an interview with The Sun during the football tournament as Coleen’s lawyer accused her of trying to distance herself from the notion she had ‘strong links’ with journalists.
Referring to this interview, Jamie Vardy’s wife told the court: ‘I was busy with the kids and under so much stress and we even had to wash our own clothes in the sink at the hotel.’
The High Court heard messages Ms Watt sent Rebekah as she was setting up the interview.
Ms Watt told her it was ‘easy s**t’ and that she should talk about how she is having a good time and ‘backing the boys’ but ‘don’t want any attention’.
Mr Sherborne said Rebekah ‘knew new perfectly well’ that the FA was worried that partners would be drawing too much attention, ‘as they had done before’.
Rebekah said she couldn’t really recall this conversation but told the court that the ‘last thing’ she wanted to be doing at that time was an interview.
Mr Sherborne then asked Rebekah to look at a message she sent to Ms Watt in September 2019, in which she said ‘Haha, yes I was buzzing, messaged Halls’ – referring to Sun reporter Andy Halls.
Rebekah said: ‘Yes, I think that is in relation to something on Twitter that he had posted, I think it was around the time of my pregnancy announcement.’
Mr Sherborne said an image attached to the message had been deleted, as Rebekah had deleted all of the images from her WhatsApp account.
The barrister pointed out that Mr Halls had tweeted about Rebekah expecting her fifth child on August 26 of that year while the message to Ms Watt was on September 4.
She replied: ‘Caroline sent me the image (of Mr Halls’ tweet) and I was just responding to it.’
Mr Sherborne put it to her that she was trying to ‘distance’ herself from Mr Halls, as he was the ‘conduit’ for the stories about Coleen, to which she replied: ‘I can’t comment on that.’
Rebekah denies making ’embarrassing’ claims there was ‘no sex ban’ imposed on the 2018 England World Cup squad in newspaper article that branded her the ‘unofficial leader of the WAGs’
Mr Sherborne referred to a story in which Rebekah was alleged to have confirmed that there was no sex ban within the England squad during the 2018 World Cup.
The article in The Sun had the headline: ‘Becky Vardy reveals the secret to England’s World Cup success is down to the lads getting to spend time with their WAGs.
It said England’s successful run in the tournament was down to Gareth Southgate ‘giving the lads the freedom to score – with their wives and girlfriends.’
Rebekah is said to have hinted that sex hadn’t been explicitly forbidden as ‘there is no proof it hinders performance’
The article featured an apparently naked Rebekah draped inna flag of St George.
The article described Rebekah as the ‘unofficial leader of the WAGs.
Asked if those were her words Rebekah denied the saying of the journalist who wrote the story: ‘No it was his and it’s quite an embarrassing statement.’
During his cross-examination Mr Sherborne accused Rebekah of ‘having selective amnesia’.
‘She defo CRASHED’: Rebekah denies leaking story about Coleen’s ‘bad car smash’ in US
Rebekah denied leaking information about Coleen’s 2019 car crash in Washington DC to the media.
Mr Sherborne quizzed Jamie Vardy’s wife over an article in The Sun about how Coleen had narrowly escaped injury in a horror crash while husband Wayne was playing in the US.
Coleen had posted a picture of her badly damaged Honda on her private Instagram account, the court heard.
The story quoted a source who said: ‘Coleen ended up having a bad smash when she was driving the family car. One side of the car was completely caved in. She couldn’t drive it away and it looked like a total write off.’
The day after the message was posted, Ms Watt sent a message to Rebekah saying: ‘Am I imagining it or did you say yesterday that Coleen had crashed her Honda?’
Rebekah replied: ‘She defo has’ – and instructed Ms Watt to go into Coleen’s account. Ms Watt then sent another message saying: ‘She must have taken whatever it is down as it’s not there now.’
Under cross-examination, Rebekah denied leaking the story.
An Instagram post from Coleen showed a photo of the damaged vehicle, which the court has been told about previously. ‘RIP’ and ‘half a Honda’, the post says.
Mr Sherborne referred Rebekah to an article written in The Sun about the car crash.
‘Coleen Rooney narrowly avoids injury in car crash and wrecks 4×4 just weeks after Wayne’s arrest for ‘public intoxication’ in Washington,’ the article, which was published on 25 January 2019, is headlined.
Mr Sherborne brought up the text messages between Rebekah and Ms Watt about the crash, which took place on the 23 January.
Ms Watt asked her about Coleen crashing the Honda and told her she could no longer see the Instagram post.
‘I would have tried to have done a story on Coleen but the evidence has been deleted,’ Ms Watt said in a message to Vardy, the court hears.
The previous evening, Rebekah had been at the National Television Awards. She and Ms Watts were in a box hosted by The Sun, the court heard, and the journalist who wrote the car crash article a few days later, Andy Halls, was also there.
Mr Sherborne accused Rebekah of changing her story on whether or not she knew Halls was there. In her witness statement submitted to the court, she said: ‘Andy Halls may also have been there but I don’t remember seeing him.’
Referring to the texts between her and Ms Watts about the car crash, Rebekah said at one point: ‘I wasn’t paying that much attention, not at half past eight at night.’
Mr Sherborne said: ‘But you don’t say to her it’s half past eight and I want to watch my favourite show on TV, do you?’
‘I don’t really watch television,’ said Rebekah.
Rebekah – pictured today – continued to give evidence after her gruelling five-hour cross-examination was cut short by a fire alarm yesterday afternoon
Coleen leaving her London hotel earlier this morning – still wearing an orthopaedic boot on her left leg following an accident at home
Coleen left the hotel holding a coffee and an iPhone in a pink case, while her husband Wayne carried a leather handbag with a file inside. Both smiled for the photographers
Team Rooney vs Team Vardy! Rebekah is supported by crisis manager who’s an expert in online reputation and a VERY burly bodyguard in Jamie’s absence – while Coleen has Hollywood’s favourite barrister
By Bridie Pearson-Jones for MailOnline
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy have enlisted some of the country’s finest media experts and legal minds as they go head to head in the celebrity trial of the decade.
Yesterday was the second instalment of the £3million ‘Wagatha Christie‘ libel trial between the two footballer’s wives which featured a tearful appearance in the witness box, Whatsapp ‘gossip’ about a mystery celebrity affair and yet more foul-mouthed text messages – all brought to an end by a fittingly dramatic fire alarm.
Coleen publicly ‘outed’ her fellow WAG when she accused her of sharing three fake stories she had posted on her personal Instagram with The Sun as part of what she described as a social media ‘sting’ operation. Rebekah vehemently denied the allegation – leading her to launch the pricey legal action which saw its second day on Wednesday.
While Tuesday’s hearing dredged up Peter Andre‘s alleged ‘chipolata’ manhood, yesterday focused on Rebekah’s relationship with her agent Caroline Watt.
In the Vardy corner is Hacked Off founder Hugh Tomlinson QC – as well as two glamorous members of the legal team, including one who was once named one of the ‘sexiest lawyers’ in the UK, and another who is a crisis manager who’s experienced in online reputation.
Vardy has also appeared alongside a security guard – whereas Coleen doesn’t appear to have any bodyguard by her when entering court.
Meanwhile, Coleen has been joined in court by her football superstar husband Wayne as well as Hollywood’s favourite lawyer David Sherborne and rising legal mind Ben Hamer.
Here, FEMAIL reveals who’s who at the trial that’s kept the nation gripped…
TEAM VARDY
Dr Rosa Malley
In Rebekah’s legal team is Dr Rosa Malley, 37, an Associate in the Dispute Resolution team at top law firm Kingsley Napley.
Rosa was a part of the Hacked Off campaign and specialises in reputation and media matters, according to her online bio.
She previously worked as a paralegal at top city law firm Mishcon de Reya, who led the High Court bid to stop Boris Johnson triggering Brexit.
One of their barristers, Anthony Julius, acted for Princess Diana in her divorce from Prince Charles.
In Rebekah’s legal team is Dr Rosa Malley, 37, an Associate in the Dispute Resolution team at top law firm Kingsley Napley
Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City soccer player Jamie Vardy, leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London
The firm also represented Heather Mills in her divorce case against Beatles star Paul McCartney, before separating ‘amicably’ from their client.
The company also acted for former Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister Chris Huhne when he faced allegations of perverting the course of justice by ‘swapping’ speeding points with his wife. Mr Huhne was later sentenced to eight months in prison.
Rosa got her PhD studying the Representation of Women in British Politics at University of Bristol in 2011.
She works in pre and post-publication for broadcast media, and has also worked in crisis management with politicians, sportspeople, celebrities and high profile criminal defendants.
Before her legal career, Rosa worked in politics, as a researcher at the ThinkTank Institute for Government and as a Special Projects Manager for the Hacked Off campaign. She also taught British Politics at Birkbeck, University of London.
Fittingly for the case in question, Rosa has experience in online reputation and abuse on social media.
Charlotte Harris
Like Rosa, Charlotte Harris, 44, worked at Hacked Off and for eminent law firm Mishcon de Reya.
Described as ‘one of the most sought out privacy lawyers in the land’ she boasts a client base of ‘MPs, celebrities, PR experts, sports agents, sports people’.
In 2013, she married investment banker James Burr, with a very star-studded guest list including Hugh Grant, MP Tom Watson, MP Chris Huhne, and Max Clifford.
Like Rosa, Charlotte Harris (pictured), 44, worked at Hacked Off and for eminent law firm Mishcon de Reya
At the wedding millionaire former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne enjoyed his last night of liberty before he was sentenced the next day at Southwark crown court to eight months’ imprisonment.
Writing in the Diary column for the New Stateman at the time, Mr Watson said he ‘entertained’ the gathering of celebrities, MPs, bankers and highly remunerated senior Mishcon staff with a karaoke rendition of the new wave anthem Teenage Kicks.
Clearly beauty and brains, she was named one of the country’s sexiest lawyers in 2015 in a list put together by the website Legal Cheek.
Charlotte has appeared before Parliamentary Select Committees throughout her career, including the Leveson Inquiry and was described as a ‘force of nature and always ready for a fight’ by Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide in 2020.
Hugh Tomlinson QC
Hugh Tomlinson QC, who is representing Ms Vardy, is a top-flight privacy silk who has launched dozen of battles with the press in his four decade career.
The Leeds-born, Oxford-educated lawyer last year advocated successfully in a claim against a journalist and author after she made false allegations that Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea FC on Vladimir Putin’s orders.
He was one of several lawyers representing Russian oligarchs whose ethics were questioned in parliament by the Conservative MP Bob Seely following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, who is representing Ms Vardy, is a top-flight privacy silk who has launched dozen of battles with the press in his four decade career
The lawyer was on the side of Jeremy Clarkson’s ex-wife Alex Hall when he tried to – but dropped – efforts to stop her claiming they had an affair during his later marriage.
He also successfully represented Prince Charles as the royal sought to stop the publishing of his Hong Kong travel diaries, saying public interest justifications were ‘far-fetched’.
And in an earlier case, he won substantial damages for Christopher Jefferies after press coverage incorrectly associated him with the murder of his tenant Joanna Yeates in 2010.
A year later he co-founded Hacked Off, the group campaigning for tighter media regulation, which he now chairs, and which has backers such as Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan.
Tomlinson was born in Woodhouse in Leeds where he went to Leeds Grammar School and then Balliol College, Oxford, leaving with the top first in PPE.
He then took up philosophical studies at Sussex University before going to the University of Paris in 1977. In 2000 he was a founding member of Matrix Chambers in London.
TEAM ROONEY
David Sherborne
Unlike Rebekah, Coleen arrived at court with just her husband and not an entourage of lawyers.
However, her legal team is just as impressive and versed in the world of celebrity as her fellow WAG’s.
David Sherborne, 53, who has been dubbed one of Hollywood’s favourite lawyers, is acting for Mrs Rooney.
He was lead counsel for victims of press intrusion in the Leveson inquiry, and represented Johnny Depp in his libel suit against The Sun. In November 2020, the High Court ruled that Depp had lost his case.
In September 2020, Sherborne was dropped from the Duchess of Sussex’s legal team in her case against The Mail on Sunday following an early setback.
Sherborne’s previous clients also include Princess Diana, Melania Trump, Sir Paul McCartney, Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Harry Styles.
David Sherborne, 53, who has been dubbed one of Hollywood’s favourite lawyers, is acting for Mrs Rooney.
His father was a QC, but while he comes from a legal family, he is seen as a ‘rebel’ in many ways due to his apparent fondness for the limelight.
A former colleague told The Times: ‘He likes to present a fun, outgoing persona and is very limelight-seeking. All the other barristers in chambers were hyper-critical of him breaking the rules.’
While he’s known for rubbing shoulders with A-listers, Tattler and Evening Standard both commented he is ‘so handsome’ he could be a celebrity himself.
The twice-married barrister was revealed to be having an affair with a member of Lord Leveson’s junior counsel, Carine Patry Hoskins in 2013-.
Ms Hoskins, dubbed the ‘thinking man’s Pippa Middleton’ -was Lord Leveson’s number two, while Mr Sherborne was defending Hugh Grant and other hacking victims.
Ben Hamer
There was a rare moment of light relief amidst the morning’s fierce cross-examination when Mr Sherborne mentioned that his junior, Ben Hamer, 29, was ‘very adept at searching online through social media on his phone.’
Rebekah shot back, without smiling: ‘I know, Mr Hamer follows me on Twitter’ to laughter in the court.
But this isn’t Ben’s first celebrity case. He’s previously Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard and acted for the claimant in Blackledge v Person(s) Unknown where libel and harassment damages of £70,000 were awarded against the Defendant.
The Durham University graduate was first called to the Bar in 2017 at Lincoln’s Inn, where he was a Lord Bowen and Lord Denning scholar.
Very accomplished at a young age, he’s previously was presented with the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for his work on free speech and fake news.
He now provides pre-publication advice to various publications such as The Times and The Sunday Times as well as HarperCollins and Bloomsbury publishers. He is security cleared to SC level.
Ben began as a tenant at 5RB after successful completion of pupillage at Chambers. His supervisors were Adam Wolanski QC, Jonathan Barnes QC, Richard Munden and Adam Speker QC.
Ben was called to the Bar in 2017 at Lincoln’s Inn, where he was a Lord Bowen and Lord Denning scholar.
In 2017, Ben was presented with the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize, run in conjunction with the Daily Telegraph, for his writing on free speech, social media and ‘fake news’. As an undergraduate, he edited Palatinate, where he won the Hunter Davies Prize for Student Journalism.