Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy kept in the dark about libel trial verdict over fears they might leak it
THE Wagatha Christie judge last night refused to give Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney advance notice of their libel trial verdict — so no one could be tempted to leak it.
Mrs Justice Steyn is due to publicly reveal the result of the warring Wags’ three-year, £3million battle at noon today.
Coleen, 36, was sued by Rebekah, 40, after accusing her on social media of leaking stories to the Press. It saw the two women face each other in the High Court in May.
The mum-of-four has reflected on the battle and privately told pals: “Whatever the judge decides, I’ve already won.”
Coleen was last night said to be “supremely confident” of victory.
A source close to the 36-year-old said: “She believes the evidence presented before the court has proved her case that Becky knew about leaks to the Press — and approved them.”
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Coleen and Rebekah — wife of ex-England striker Jamie, 35 — had hoped to get an advanced copy of the ruling.
But in a highly unusual step Mrs Justice Steyn, who presided over the trial, insisted on keeping it under wraps.
The pair will find out who has won this morning — and could be given just an hour to digest her judgment.
Last night, stunned legal sources said the judge acted to remove temptation from either party to reveal the outcome early.
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One said: “In most cases the parties, or at least their lawyers, are given an early heads-up before the result.
“It could be from 24 hours to as much as a week in advance.
“It’s totally at the judge’s discretion but allows those involved to consider their legal position, especially in a high-profile case like this.
"On this occasion that has been totally denied — and they won’t know the result until the morning.”
Coleen enjoyed a low-key family meal in Manchester as she nervously awaited the outcome.
Her husband, ex-England football ace Wayne, 36 — the new coach at Washington’s D.C. United — flew in from the US to be with her.
The Wags’ High Court fight in May came after Coleen’s 2019 post on Instagram which saw the public dub her Wagatha Christie.
In it, she accused Rebekah of being behind leaks to the Press about her private life, after conducting a “whodunnit” sting operation.
Rebekah then sued Coleen over the claim. The source close to Coleen said: “She never wanted this to go to court but now that it has, she feels utterly vindicated by the whole process.
“She says it couldn’t have gone any better.
“If the judge disagrees then so be it — but it’s immaterial.
“Coleen says she has achieved what she set out to do and has won, whatever the outcome. The public have seen it for themselves and that’s all Coleen wanted.
She believes the evidence presented before the court has proved her case that Becky knew about leaks to the Press — and approved them.
A source close to Coleen Rooney
“Becky brought the libel action to restore her reputation but in the space of a week took a massive sledgehammer to it.
“Coleen stands by what she said. She feels that everything that has come out in court cements her position entirely.
“It didn’t need to go this far but now it has she is entirely satisfied that she can walk away with her head held high.”
Last night, legal experts said that even if mum-of-five Becky wins, she could be entitled to only £1 damages because she admitted leaking information about others.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens CBE, of Howard Kennedy, said: “If the sting of the libel is true, in that Rebekah Vardy is a habitual leaker, then Coleen Rooney probably wins.
“Even if Rebekah does win, the measure of her damages will be very low. It could be as low as £1, which is the modern day equivalent of a farthing.
“If she is awarded that level of damages, she will end up paying the other side’s legal costs.”
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He added: “In the court of public opinion Rebekah Vardy did herself a disservice with her evidence.
“The only winners here are the lawyers, who are going to be putting up Vardy or Rooney extensions in their homes.”
HOW WAGATHA UNFOLDED
By PAUL SIMS
COLEEN Rooney’s dramatic 230-word Instagram post set in motion one of the most gripping libel battles of all time.
She told how she had suspected someone she trusted of leaking her private information to the Press.
She detailed the elaborate trap she set to unmask the fiend and ended with four words: “It’s . . . Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
On the morning of October 9, 2019, Wagatha Christie was born.
For her part Coleen, 36, hated the moniker but kept screenshots of her mocked up in a Scooby-Doo whodunnit and on the front of an Agatha Christie crime novel.
Becky, 40, was pregnant and holidaying in Dubai with husband, Jamie, 35, when it kicked off.
She sent Coleen a WhatsApp demanding: “WTF is this?”
Days later Coleen received a letter from a top law firm instructed by Becky to begin libel proceedings.
The pair have since traded blows in documents, failed to settle out of court and spent around £3million.
Their blockbuster battle finally reached the High Court in May.
Text messages between Becky and her agent Caroline Watt, 40, laid bare their apparent willingness to leak stories about footballers.
And they were accused of hatching a plan for photographers to snap England’s Wags outside a restaurant at the 2018 World Cup.
Becky dismissed the messages as jokes and gossip before an excruciating U-turn as they were read out loud in court.
A tearful Becky was followed into the witness box by Coleen.
Outside court, Jamie accused Wayne of “talking nonsense”, while Wayne branded his ex-teammate “a bottler” for refusing to give evidence on oath.
For the neutral — it had it all.
