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Rebekah Vardy ordered to pay Coleen Rooney's legal costs over Wagatha Christie trial - which could reach £1.5m

Mrs Vardy, 40, lost her libel claim against Mrs Rooney, 36 in July; a ruling issued on Tuesday said Vardy must pay 90 per cent of Rooney's costs, with £800,000 paid by 4pm on November 15; Mrs Rooney's final figure of legal costs came to £1,667,860

Rebekah Vardy denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer's wife for libel.
Image: Rebekah Vardy must pay £1.5m in legal costs to Coleen Rooney

Rebekah Vardy has been ordered to pay Coleen Rooney's legal costs following their Wagatha Christie libel trial - and the bill could reach about £1.5m.

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Justice Steyn said Vardy must pay 90 per cent of Rooney's costs, and that £800,000 of the costs bill must be paid by 4pm on November 15.

Vardy lost her libel trial against Rooney in July.

The case centred around a social media post published by Rooney on October 9 2019, in which she accused Vardy of leaking stories about her to the press.

The post led to Rooney being dubbed "Wagatha Christie" on social media - a nod to the world-famous British crime novelist Agatha Christie.

Coleen Rooney said she had carried out a "sting operation" and accused Mrs Vardy of leaking "false stories" about her private life to the press - prompting her to be dubbed "Wagatha Christie"
Image: Coleen Rooney accused Mrs Vardy of leaking 'false stories' about her private life to the press - prompting her to be dubbed 'Wagatha Christie'

Vardy, who had denied being responsible for leaking Rooney's personal information, announced she would be taking Rooney to court in June 2020, with the trial finally reaching the High Court in May this year.

However, the case did not go Vardy's way, with the court finding the essence of Rooney's social media post was "substantially true" - that's to say Vardy was responsible for leaking Rooney's private information to the press.

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In her ruling, Judge Steyn said Rooney's evidence was "honest and reliable", but labelled Vardy's evidence "manifestly inconsistent... evasive or implausible".

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