Monday 16 May 2022 01:01 PM Coleen Rooney reveals how she ramped up Wagatha Christie 'sting' as Rebekah ... trends now

Coleen Rooney today revealed how she ramped up her 'Wagatha Christie' investigation when her husband Wayne was 'misbehaving' with a blonde barmaid during a ten-hour bender with teammates in Florida.

Coleen also admitted keeping her probe secret from the former England captain - as well as lying to Rebekah Vardy after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram, as the women's £3million libel trial continued.

London's High Court heard the sting gathered momentum at a time when Rooney was 'misbehaving.' Asked if that was the case by Rebekah's barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC, Coleen replied: 'There's been a few unfortunate things that have happened and they have been publicised. It's happened quite a few times and I've dealt with it. We've dealt with it as a couple, as a family. There are a few things that have been publicised over a few years.'

Speaking of Rebekah's response to her 'troubles', Coleen said: 'I did feel that when there's tough times going on, I felt Mrs Vardy would message more. I felt It's when there are things in the news, she would message me and say How are you?'. I felt like it was fishing for information.'

The court heard one occasion when Rebekah went 'fishing for information' happened hours after her husband allegedly 'spent time' with the barmaid in Florida. Coleen told how Rebekah got in contact after The Sun told how she was threatening to quit the US and return to Britain after Rooney's encounter with Vicki Rosiek when he was playing for DC United in Washington.

Making contact with Coleen at lunchtime on February 11 2019, the day after the article appeared, Rebekah wrote: 'Hi my love! Hope you are ok! Just saw another s***ty story online! Can they not just leave you guys alone...I don't know how you do it! It's relentless...stay strong. Sending hugs.

Coleen replied: 'Thanks, just a pain in a**e...it's the kids half term so just gonna come home.' Messaging Coleen back, Rebekah wrote: 'It's a joke! Annoys me someone close to you is clearly selling you out! And for what...I don't blame you come home and be with your family'.

Over a two-month period, Coleen posted up to 50 stories on her account, up to five or six a day, that were only visible to Rebekah's account, the court heard. Mr Tomlinson said: 'This was really a serious and concerted operation wasn't it Mrs Rooney.' Coleen replied, saying: 'It was important but I felt like it's been made out in the public a lot more important than it actually is.'

Asked by Mr Tomlinson why she had not told Rooney about her investigation, Coleen replied: 'One thing I don't do is put any troubles or worries on anyone else. I don't like to put pressure on anyone until I need to. 

'That's what I've always done. I wanted to do it for myself without telling anyone. There's trust and there's trust. It was quite hard keeping it to myself but I had to do it if I wanted to find out who was doing it to me.'

Also today, Coleen admitted lying to Rebekah after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram. During cross-examination about her actions, 36-year-old Coleen also told Mr Tomlinson at the trial today: 'Yes I did lie, it was a cover-up for what I was investigating, I had my suspicions.'

The trial comes after a widely-shared social media post in October 2019, in which Coleen said she had carried out a 'sting operation' and accused 40-year-old Rebekah of leaking 'false stories' about her private life to the press.

Rebekah, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer's wife for libel, while Coleen is defending the claim on the basis her post was 'substantially true'.

It follows some of the most memorable parts of the trial last week, including:

Rebekah speaking of her regret over a kiss-and-tell interview in which she revealed intimate details of a sexual encounter with singer Peter Andre, which resulted in an article headlined: 'Peter's hung like a small chipolata'; Claims over a celebrity spat breaking out after Rebekah was allegedly caught taking pictures of the contents of the late Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding's handbag at the National Television Awards in 2018; Rebekah admitting she didn't know who Davy Jones was when the court was reminded that her agent Caroline Watt had said in an earlier hearing that her phone had fallen into the North Sea;

The court was told this morning that Coleen unfollowed Rebekah in early 2019 and received a message a month later asking her if Rebekah had 'done something to offend you.' 

The court heard that on March 3 that year, Rebekah sent Coleen a note saying: 'I saw you had unfollowed me and I wasn't following you anymore on Instagram...just wanted to ask if I had done something or offended you in anyway? Literally only noticed the other day'.

Coleen admitted she 'told her a fib' in her reply, saying she 'didn't even know' - adding that her children used her phone often and she would check to see what happened. In fact, the court was told that she had deliberately unfollowed her because of concerns that stories were being leaked from her account.

The message only increased Coleen's suspicions, she said. 'If it was me, I would have just forgotten about it,' she added. Coleen said if it had happened to her, then she 'wouldn't be that bothered really'. When Rebekah asked why, Coleen told her she hadn't realised and thought it might have been her children playing with her phone. The message said: 'Oh, I didn't even know, the kids have my phone all the time, they've probably done it, let me check.'

Coleen admitted: 'I did tell her a fib.' Mr Tomlinson asked: 'Why weren't you simply honest with her?' She said: 'Mrs Vardy never came to me and said it was me, despite the fact I'd given warnings on Instagram, so why should I be honest?'

Coleen said she did not believe Rebekah would 'tell the truth anyway, even if I confronted her'. Asked whether the best thing to do would have been to warn her this was going on, she asserted that Rebekah had told a 'lot of lies'.

Crucially, she added that not only did she think it was Rebekah's account that was leaking stories to The Sun, but also Rebekah herself was aware. 'I believe she knew all along', she said.

In addition, Coleen told how she did not contact her rival after making her Wagatha Christie discovery as 'did not believe a word that was coming out of her mouth'.

Explaining why she made her 'It's… Rebekah Vardy's Account' post instead of contacting Rebekah, she told the court 'I thought maybe if I did approach her she might twist it and cover it up somehow and might not be truthful so I didn't give her the opportunity.'

Asked about Rebekah's response to the post she said: 'She said she had zero interest in what was going on in my life which I didn't think was true because she talks about me a lot. So that was a lie.'

Talking about Rebekah's frequent exchanges with Ms Watt about her private life which she has since discovered, Coleen said: 'She's got no need to talk about me. I just felt that the messages that went on between them are evil and uncalled for.

'They're totally the opposite of the truth. I'm not a bad person. It's totally untrue. I didn't think there was any need for it/'It's nothing to do with them.'

She added of Rebekah: 'I didn't trust her - I didn't believe her. I did not believe a word that was coming out of her mouth.'

She said she wasn't trying to portray Rebekah as 'a valiant' and thought much of the response to her post was 'ridiculous'.

Coleen said she 'hated every minute' of the furore which erupted.

She accepted she had images on her phone which made light of the matter including references to the Scooby Doo gang 'unmasking a villain' and comparisons with Agatha Christie.

But she insisted she was not 'delighted' with the reaction to the post.

Coleen said: 'No I wasn't. I have never craved press attention. I have had it and I have accepted it. I have never drawn attention to myself.'

Coleen also told how she kept tabs on whether stories had been published about her during her investigation by making online checks. She said: 'Sometimes I do Google News and click my name in and articles come up.'

Coleen continued giving evidence today, having said last Friday that she was glad she 'put an end' to Rebekah allegedly leaking other people's information after her bid to catch the person 'betraying' her 'red-handed'.

Last week Coleen told the trial how her marriage almost fell apart after Rooney was caught drink-driving with a party girl in 2017. Coleen said that in the aftermath of the incident involving former office worker Laura Simpson, she and their children stayed with her parents and she 'didn't know how my marriage was going to work out'. 

This morning, Coleen was accompanied by her husband Wayne Rooney, and she wore a grey jacket and trousers with a black top. The couple stepped out of a silver Mercedes and were met by a crowd of photographers.

Rebekah arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in a black Mercedes moments later. Wearing a yellow jacket and skirt, she walked past the waiting crowd of photographers and journalists and went into the building.

Coleen began giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday afternoon and is expected to continue speaking up until this afternoon - with her husband Wayne Rooney due to step into the witness box tomorrow.

Describing the 'sting operation' in her statement, Coleen said: 'I wanted to catch the account responsible 'red-handed' as it were and so I came up with a plan.'

She revealed how she reinstated Rebekah as a follower then posted messages on Instagram Stories, a feature which allows users to make posts that are only accessible for 24 hours.

Coleen explained users can limit which of their followers they allow to view the post and a 'Seen By' function shows which accounts have viewed it.

Coleen went on to post a string of false stories. They included a fake claim that she was going to go through gender selection treatment in Mexico and that a devastating storm had led to their basement being flooded at their £20million Cheshire home.

Rebekah's account viewed Coleen's invented stories which ended up featuring in The Sun, it is claimed.

Mr Tomlinson said Coleen had been using 'lawyers' language' in describing how her sting unfolded in her statement.

She wrote in her statement: 'For the avoidance of any doubt I did not mention this plan or the content of the sting operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.

'Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.'

Coleen was additionally asked about a 'congratulations' WhatsApp message she sent to Rebekah after reading about her pregnancy – despite the fact she already suspected her as 'the grass'.

Mr Tomlinson asked: 'So you knew she was pregnant and going to have her child towards the end of the year and would be potentially in quite a vulnerable state?'

'I was being genuine, as a woman,' said Coleen. 'Even though I had suspicions, I would never, ever wish any harm to someone, these were genuine congratulations.

Also in court today, Coleen told how she stopped her initial investigation after two days as she wanted to enjoy her holiday in Mexico with her family.

She began the sting by posting a message saying she had travelled to the country to undergo gender selection treatment. She falsely claimed that having four sons she was looking to add a girl to the family.

Coleen said she 'kept an eye' to see if the false story appeared in The Sun but after nothing initially happened she unblocked all her other friends.

Coleen said she 'wanted to continue with the holiday and make memories with my family and post messages I usually post'.

She said that at the time Instagram was an important way of keeping in touch with family and friends which was difficult as the family were living in America at the time after Wayne signed for Washington club DC United.

She said: 'Because of the time difference Instagram played a big part in my life. It was nice just to see familiar faces in posts.'

Coleen was also asked about her publicist Rachel Monk, whom she described as somebody who oversees her media projects, and has 'worked on and off with me for years now'. She said approaches from the media about stories were typically sent to Monk PR, and later Mark Whittle - both of whom are expected to give evidence later today.

A message was read out from Ms Monk, who was alerting Coleen to a story being pursued by the Sun regarding Coleen finding a babysitter. Coleen was asked if she believed Rebekah was still leaking stories, despite being unfollowed by Coleen shortly beforehand. She said she didn't know what Rebekah was thinking at the time, but thinks she might have believed she had 'got away with it'.

'We were living in America at the time' of the post, she said, and babysitters wasn't something she often spoke about. The court heard the request from the Sun came ten days after a private Instagram post about the subject.

Coleen also admitted that she wanted The Sun's 'gender selection' story to run, so she could amass evidence for her investigation, the court heard.

In messages between her and Ms Monk, it emerged that the newspaper approached Coleen via Ms Monk, before the story was published in August 2019.

'I said [to Ms Monk] 'say you can't get hold of me, or say nothing',' she said. 'I wanted the story to run so I would have evidence.

'I felt that would be an extra step, I would have my story which only one account had seen. I wanted my own evidence, but the story was totally untrue.'

Coleen also described the messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt as 'evil'.

She told the court: 'I've never met Caroline Watt, I didn't know her, but the messages between them were evil, speaking about someone they don't even know. It was just totally untrue – I have never done anything to them and for them to call me…. It just shocked me.'

Earlier Coleen told how a story she believed was based on the third and final 'fake post' about a flooded basement in her new Cheshire mansion was the trigger for her bombshell Wagatha post the following day.

She has said in her statement: 'That evening, on 8 October 2019, I uploaded a post to the Private Instagram Account with a quote which said 'Don't play games with a girl who can play better' with the caption 'One thing I am not is stupid…much wiser than you think'.'

She added: 'By this point (late-evening on 8 October 2019), I had decided that I was going to make an announcement the following morning. I drafted something on pen and paper in the evening ready to be posted the next day. Wayne was in the US at the time so it was just me and the kids in the house. I didn't speak to him about it.

'In the morning of 9 October 2019, I uploaded a post to my Private Instagram Account which said 'after years of my personal Instagram posts getting leaked to the SUN newspaper…I've finally cracked it and know exactly who's account it is!!!!'

She said the reaction to her post was 'way bigger than I thought it would be.' Mr Tomlinson said: 'But you wrote it as a whodunnit to grab attention where you say 'It's…..'

But Coleen responded that she often used 'dots' in her posts.

Last Friday, Coleen began giving evidence in Court 13. Asked by Rebekah's barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC what she set out to achieve with the widely shared post, Coleen replied: 'I wasn't achieving anything, what I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.'

Coleen added that she had given out warnings 'many times', but 'it didn't stop'.

'This was my last resort,' she continued. In a witness statement, she outlined her 'growing sense of suspicion' that Rebekah's account might be linked to alleged leaks.

She explained she made two warning posts on social media and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account 'but nothing had worked'.

Coleen added that she 'wanted to catch the account responsible 'red-handed' as it were and so I came up with a plan', before outlining her so-called 'sting operation' of positing fake stories and limiting access to them to Rebekah's Instagram account.

She claimed that her concerns 'went beyond my own posts', writing: 'I knew that I could not be the only one whose trust was being abused by the culprit and I now know from having seen the WhatsApp exchanges between Becky and Caroline that Becky was leaking information about a whole range of other people too.

'I thought whoever was doing this was probably betraying other people in this way too.'

She added: 'There have been no leaks of posts from my account since. No doubt similar behaviour by Becky was also a real worry for many others too. I am glad I have put an end to it.'

In court on Friday, Mr Tomlinson suggested Coleen had 'no evidence' to establish that Rebekah leaked information from her personal Instagram account.

'I believe that Mrs Vardy knew that this was happening, whether it was Mrs Vardy herself or it was someone she's given permission to,' Coleen said.

Mr Tomlinson replied that 'you might believe that Derby County will win the premiership', adding: 'It's not evidence that they are going to.'

'No it's not,' she replied.

Coleen's husband, former England footballer Wayne Rooney, is manager of the Derby County football team and was sat metres away from his wife during the hearing.

Before Coleen began her evidence on Friday afternoon, Rebekah entered the witness box for the final day of her evidence, telling the court she felt 'bullied and manipulated' while facing cross examination.

Rebekah, who became emotional during her evidence, told the court that she 'wanted to clear her name' and had brought the legal action for her children.

Earlier in the trial, TV personality Rebekah was asked about a 2004 interview in the defunct tabloid about a sexual encounter she said she had with singer Peter Andre.

Coleen's barrister David Sherborne showed what appeared to be an A3 printout of the article to Rebekah in the witness box, before reading the headline: 'Peter's hung like a small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes.'

However, Rebekah previously said that she was 'forced into a situation by my ex-husband' to do the interview.

On Friday, Rebekah was asked questions by her barrister, Hugh Tomlinson QC, about the article.

Mr Tomlinson asked: 'Looking back now all these years, nearly 20 years since, can you remember whether the things presented in the article were things you actually said?' 

Rebekah replied: 'There's a lot of things in there that did not come out of my mouth that were misrepresented in the circumstances around that article I'm deeply sorry for. It's shameful reading that, and one of my biggest regrets.'

Coleen is defending the libel claim brought by Rebekah on the basis of truth and public interest.

The libel battle comes after Coleen publicly claimed that an account behind three fake stories in The Sun that she had posted on her personal Instagram account was Rebekah's.

The fake stories Coleen planted on her Instagram during the sting operation featured her travelling to Mexico for a 'gender selection' procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.

In the post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, she wrote: 'I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. 'It's .......... Rebekah Vardy's account.'

As the toxic feud between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy spilled out in public for a second week, here is a summary of the evidence as it was heard in court:

COLEEN'S TESTIMONY  Rebekah 'got into a spat with Sarah Harding at National Television Awards after she was caught going through the Girls Aloud singer's handbag'

Rebekah got into a heated argument with Sarah Harding at the 2018 National Television Awards after the Girls Aloud singer spotted her rifling through her handbag, the High Court heard last week.

The story - which was published in several tabloid newspapers at the time - was mentioned by Coleen Rooney in written documents she submitted to the High Court as part of the £3million Wagatha Christie libel trial.

Coleen claimed: 'She got in a spat with former Girls Aloud group member Sarah Harding during the 2018 event because Sarah apparently caught Becky taking photographs of the contents of Sarah's handbag when Sarah had dropped it on the floor.

'Their dispute subsequently appeared in The Sun.'

Rebekah is said to have 'come to blows' with Sarah hours after the 2018 NTAs had been broadcast on ITV.

According to an article published at the time in The Mirror, Sarah accused Rebekah of taking 'sneaky pictures' of her, sparking a 'heated' row between the pair that caused a 'huge scene'.

Sources claimed that Sarah had dropped her bag inside the bash, and as she proceeded to pick up her belongings from the floor, she saw a camera flash and I'm A Celebrity star Rebekah standing nearby with her phone in her hand.

It is said the singer saw red and accused mother-of-five Rebekah of taking sly pictures of her while she was scrambling around collecting her things.

The insiders continued that Rebekah, the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, was left irked by the accusation and insisted that hadn't been the case, offering to show Sarah her phone, before demanding an apology from the Celebrity Big Brother star.

'Rebekah couldn't believe the insinuation and angrily insisted she hadn't even been using her phone,' they claimed.

'A few of their friends had to step in and intervene because they were getting really heated with one another- it caused a huge scene.'

Sarah died on September 5 last year after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.    

Wagatha Christie post was a 'last resort'

Coleen has claimed that she made her bombshell social media post in October 2019 about carrying out her so-called 'sting operation' as a 'last resort'.

Mr Tomlinson asked her what she wanted to achieve from the post.

'I wasn't achieving anything,' she said, adding: 'What I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.' She told the court that she had given out warnings 'many times', but 'it didn't stop'.

'I've never been friends with Rebekah': Coleen says she's 'never socially interacted' with rival WAG  

Coleen told the hearing that she had never been friends with Rebekah.

Describing their relationship she said: 'I've never had a drink with Mrs Vardy. We've never socially interacted. We've met on a few occasions at football but we've never interacted socially.

'I've never picked the phone up to Rebekah Vardy. The only time I spoke to her on the phone was the day of the post.'

She said the first contact the pair had ever had was when she and her husband were invited to her wedding to Jamie in May 2016.

She said: 'We couldn't make it. It was a busy time of the year. I sent a gift and Rebekah replied saying ''thank you''.'

She said she was unable to go as it was a 'busy Tim' at the end of the season.

Describing how her investigation began to gain momentum, Coleen said: 'There were a number of things that added up with the others. I didn't just pluck it out of thin air.

'I suspected this person was having a relationship with The Sun so I googled it, looked at past articles and saw the connection between Rebekah Vardy and The Sun.

'This thing was not just thought of overnight. I did think of it for a long time. As I've said I'm not one who just jumps on things.'

She said: 'I was trying to get more information and put it together with the information I already had. I came up with Rebekah Vardy. 

'There was no other person on my private Instagram who was in a position to give this information to The Sun.'

Coleen wanted to catch the account responsible for leaking her information 'red-handed'

In her witness statement, Coleen said she had made two warning posts and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account 'but nothing had worked'.

She continued: 'I wanted to catch the account responsible 'red-handed' as it were and so I came up with a plan.'

Describing her plan, Coleen said: 'I decided that I would invent and fabricate a story, limit accessibility in such a way so that it was only Becky's Instagram account that could view it, upload it to Instagram via Instagram Stories for a period of 24 hours so that it was only 'Seen By' Becky's Instagram account and then I would wait and see whether my fabricated/invented story, which had only been seen by Becky's Instagram account, appeared in The Sun.'

She added: 'For the avoidance of any doubt, I did not mention this plan or the content of the Sting Operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.

'Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.' 

I'm surprised by how much interest my Wagatha Christie post caused, Coleen tells the High Court

The WAG said she was 'surprised' by 'how much interest' her social media post caused.

'Obviously it was going to get picked up by the media,' she said, explaining that her life had been covered by the media for the last 20 years 'no matter how big or small' something was.

Asked by Hugh Tomlinson QC if she had a 'large loyal following' on social media, Coleen replied: 'I have a large following yes, loyal I'm not too sure about.'

Coleen DENIES making Wagatha Christie post to make Rebekah subject to abuse

Coleen insisted she did not make her 2019 Wagatha Christie post to direct trolls at Rebekah.

It was put to her by Rebekah's barrister Mr Tomlinson at the High Court this afternoon.

She said: 'No that's not my intention at all. I wouldn't ever, it's not in my nature to cause abuse or trolling in any way at all.'

When asked if she would have tried to mitigate any abuse with a post, she replied: 'Maybe I would have liked to have said that but I have never been in a court, I have never been in a legal case before, this is the first time I have gone under instruction of my legal team.'

Coleen 'removed Rebekah from her private Instagram account AFTER her car crash story was leaked'

Coleen described her decision to remove Rebekah from her private Instagram account after a story about her car being damaged was leaked to The Sun.

In her witness statement, she said: 'Going through the Instagram accounts of friends and family one by one and assessing whether or not you thought they were responsible for leaking information about you to The Sun was a horrible exercise.'

She added: 'The leaks were consistent and they were coming from my own private Instagram account, as opposed to just wider information about my life, and therefore there was a relatively limited pool of possible suspects.

'I came to the conclusion that the account responsible clearly had a relationship with The Sun and its journalists because it was only The Sun that was printing the 'exclusive' articles based upon information from my private Instagram account.' 

Coleen blasts 'sickening' message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister

Coleen said a message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister 'knocked me sick' when it was disclosed.

Coleen wrote in her witness statement: 'While they were discussing her messaging me in order to cover her tracks, Becky says to Caroline Watt 'maybe I should say

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