‘Inconceivable’ Coleen Rooney to make Rebekah Vardy pay ‘every penny’ of £3m trial | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV
Coleen Rooney, 36, and Rebekah Vardy, 40, are set to face each for one last time over who will foot the multi-million-pound bill for their costly “Wagatha Christie” libel battle. According to sources, the spouse of Wayne Rooney will fight to make sure Mrs Vardy pays the full amount, estimated to be up to £3million.
Usually, a winning party has to pay about 30 per cent of the costs.
However, Mrs Rooney’s team have reportedly claimed the judge’s judgment that Mrs Vardy did sell stories about her to The Sun have made it “inconceivable” that she won’t be made to pay the full amount.
Mrs Justice Steyn ruled on Friday that Mrs Vardy and her agent Caroline Watt had leaked stories about Mrs Rooney, wife of ex-England skipper Wayne.
Mrs Vardy had sued her former friend for libel over a now-famous social media post in which Mrs Rooney described setting up a “sting operation”.
But Mrs Vardy declined, leading to a costly High Court trial. Now, after her victory, Mrs Rooney is allegedly wanting financial closure.
A source close to Mrs Rooney told Mail On Sunday: “Coleen didn’t want this to happen.
“She knew the money would be better spent on so many other things but she won’t be letting Rebekah get away with not paying the full costs.
“She tried to settle this early on but Rebekah wouldn’t have it.
“And if you look at the outlining of the judgment, it is inconceivable that a judge wouldn’t agree she will pay them in full.
“Let’s not forget, this action was brought by Rebekah and she lost spectacularly,” they added.
During a preliminary hearing in March last year, the costs were estimated at £1.3million.
Mrs Vardy’s barrister, Hugh Tomlinson QC, reportedly charges £10,000 a day, while his opposite number, David Sherborne, charges about £8,000.
Mrs Vardy released a statement that explained she was “extremely sad and disappointed” at the judge’s decision on her libel claim.
She said: “I am extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the judge has reached.
“It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the judge’s finding.
“The judge accepted that publication of Coleen’s post was not in the ‘public interest’ and she also rejected her claim that I was the ‘Secret Wag’.
“But as for the rest of her judgement, she got it wrong and this is something I cannot accept.”
