Media personality Rebekah Vardy has been ordered to pay an immediate £800,000 as an interim sum to cover the costs of her failed libel claim against fellow footballer's wife Coleen Rooney.

The so-called Wagatha Christie saga culminated in July when the High Court ruled in favour of Rooney, who had publicly accused Vardy of leaking information about her to the media.

Rooney had planted three false stories on her private Instagram account, which all ended up being printed in The Sun, before revealing that her sting operation had revealed Vardy’s account to be responsible.

Following a seven-day trial, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that Vardy had been ‘party to the disclosure’ and found it likely that she had deliberately deleted her WhatsApp chat with her agent. The judge also found that the agent deliberately dropped her phone in the sea, making any recovery of potentially incriminating messages impossible.

In a ruling handed down today, the judge ordered that Vardy to pay 90% of Rooney’s costs of the claim on the indemnity basis. Vardy must also pay £800,000 on account of Rooney’s costs by 4pm on 15 November.

Vardy must also pay the costs of journalists who were summoned to appear in court.

As had been anticipated, the parties had disagreed on costs, with Vardy’s lawyers accepting she was the unsuccessful party but that her costs liability should be reduced by 20% to reflect elements of her truth defence which were successful.

Rooney argued for no percentage reduction and a £1m payment on account.

The judge agreed to a 10% reduction on the basis that there had been some overlap of issues and Vardy’s success in the truth defence. She was ‘wholly unpersuaded’ by the suggestion that Vardy’s approach to settlement or interviews she had given since the judgment was handed down should justify indemnity costs.

But what took the case out of the norm, and which justified indemnity costs, was the finding that Vardy and her former agent had deliberately deleted or destroyed evidence. ‘Such behaviour is outside the ordinary and reasonable conduct of proceedings,’ said the judge. ‘In all the circumstances, I consider it appropriate to order the Claimant to pay costs on the indemnity basis.’

At this stage, Rooney has not produced a bill of costs, although her solicitor’s witness statement gives a total of £2m.

 

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