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UK Wagatha Christie libel trial is over


Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy (L), leaves the Royal Courts of Justice following the final day of the high-profile trial dubbed by the media as “Wagatha Christie” case where Rebekah Vardy is suing Coleen Rooney (R) for libel after being publicly accused of leaking private stories to the press on May 19, 2022 in London, England.Wiktor Szymanowicz | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesLONDON — Rebekah Vardy, the wife of a top English Premier League soccer player, on Friday lost her libel case against Coleen Rooney, bringing an end to a so-called “Wagatha Christie” trial that has gripped the British public.The U.K. High Court ruled against Vardy and in favor Rooney after a years’ long dispute between the two “wags” — soccer players’ wives and girlfriends — which featured all the twists and turns of one of Agatha Christie’s finest mystery novels.Judge Justice Steyn delivered her written verdict Friday following a vitriolic and salacious two-week trial in May.It comes two years after Vardy sued Rooney for defamation after a dispute over a string of Instagram posts.Rooney alleged that stories from her private Instagram account were leaked by Vardy to journalists at British tabloid newspaper The Sun.Vardy vehemently denied the claims, arguing that the accusations had caused her “public abuse on a massive scale,” and suing Rooney in an attempt to clear her name.However, in her ruling Friday, Steyn said it was “likely” that Vardy’s then-agent Caroline Watt “undertook the direct act” of passing information to The Sun.”The evidence … clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behavior, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt,” she said.

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