‘She tried three times to stop this’: Lizzie Cundy reveals her pal Coleen Rooney ‘never wanted’ her and Rebekah Vardy’s £3m libel trial
Lizzie Cundy has revealed that her friend Coleen Rooney ‘never wanted’ the Wagatha Christie controversy between herself and Rebekah Vardy to go to court.
The socialite, 54, admitted she is exasperated by the ongoing £3million libel trial and described it as a pointless waste of time and money.
Speaking to GB News, Lizzie said she had spoken to her pal Coleen, 36, on Monday night after the wife of Wayne Rooney appeared in court to give evidence in the trial.
Trial: Lizzie Cundy has revealed that her friend Coleen Rooney ‘never wanted’ the Wagatha Christie controversy between herself and Rebekah Vardy to go to court
Lizzie claimed that Coleen had tried ‘three times’ to stop the conflict from turning into a trial but said Rebekah, 40, wanted her ‘day in court’.
Speaking on Breakfast with Isabel and Paul, Lizzied said: ‘Well, Coleen actually, you know, I’m going to say this straight – she never wanted to go. She tried three times to stop this.
‘Since this first came about, look what’s happened in the world. There’s been the pandemic, the war in Ukraine.
‘We’ve got the terrible you know, cost of living at the minute so much has gone on and Coleen actually said look, this is a time of waste of energy, waste of money, and the only winners are going to be the lawyers.
Court: Speaking to GB News, Lizzie said she had spoken to her pal Coleen (pictured outside court), 36, on Monday after the wife of Wayne Rooney appeared in court to give evidence
‘Coleen has really tried to sort of sort this before it’s got to this stage but Rebecca wanted her day in court.’
The TV personality, whose ex-husband is Jason Cundy, revealed the trial has split the football community ‘in half’ and claimed Wayne had ‘no idea’ about Coleen’s notorious Wagatha Christie post three years ago.
She added: ‘It’s really sad to be honest, because it has split the football community in half because some obviously siding with Coleen and Wayne and feel sorry for her and others are saying, well, look, Rebecca should be you know, she’s saying she’s innocent of this.
‘But the fact is, in court, sadly, Rebecca – a lot of her evidence is at the bottom of the North Sea and she’s looking to blame her PR agent Caroline Watt, who’s too fragile to be in court.
‘And I do think Coleen has been very strong throughout. She’s had Wayne by her side, and he’s actually standing up there today to talk himself to say he had no idea that Coleen was doing this Wagatha Christie sort of sting operation.’
Criticism: The socialite, 54, admitted she is exasperated by the ongoing £3million libel trial and described it as a pointless waste of time and money
Lizzie also claimed that Coleen and Rebekah were ‘never great friends to start with’, adding: ‘I really do believe that Rebecca would try and be friends to get in the limelight.
‘Look they are two to family girls but two very different characters…it’s very sad though it’s come to this and as I said, I don’t think anyone is really going to win, just the lawyers.’
Lizzie’s comments come after the Wagatha Christie trial entered its second week and Wayne on Tuesday claimed his wife Coleen ‘really struggled’ with the fallout from her ‘Wagatha Christie’ post.
Coleen has accused Rebekah of leaking ‘false stories’ about her private life in October 2019 after she said she carried out a months-long ‘sting operation’ – and the bombshell trial is now in its final few days.
Rebekah denies the allegations and has sued Coleen over the ‘untrue and unjustified defamatory attack’, with the last of the defence witnesses – including Rooney and his cousin Claire Rooney – giving evidence on Tuesday.
Divide: The TV personality said the trial has split the football community ‘in half’ and claimed Wayne had ‘no idea’ about Coleen’s notorious Wagatha Christie post three years ago
Wayne, 36, also said that neither he or his wife wanted to be in court as he claimed the case has been ‘really traumatic’ for Coleen.
Asked by David Sherborne, Coleen’s barrister, whether he had wanted to be in court for the last six days supporting his wife, Rooney replied: ‘I don’t think anybody wants to be in court but for me and my wife we don’t want to be in court. I’ve watched my wife over the past two, two and a half years, really struggle with everything that’s gone on… she’s become a different mother, a different wife.
‘It’s been really traumatic for my wife through this situation. Hopefully whatever the judgment is… me my wife, our children can go on and live our lives. This isn’t something we wanted to be part of.’
Rooney also revealed he had heard most of the information about this case for the first time during the ‘long’ week in the High Court.
He said: ‘Me sitting in this court room this week is the first time I’m hearing almost everything on this case. It’s been a long week. It’s the first time I’m hearing everything on this case.’
Evidence: Lizzie’s comments come after the trial entered its second week and Wayne claimed his wife Coleen ‘really struggled’ with the fallout from her ‘Wagatha Christie’ post
He also said that the abuse Rebekah had received was ‘disgusting’, adding: ‘It’s not right for a woman to receive that abuse, but I’ve never really discussed being part of any of this. I’ve been here to support my wife and this week is the first time I’m having any understanding of how it’s all happened.’
Wayne also revealed he was asked by England manager Roy Hodgson to request that Jamie Vardy asked his wife Rebekah to ‘calm down’ during Euro 2016 in France.
Wayne, the side’s captain, said he was pulled aside by Hodgson and his assistant Gary Neville and asked to raise the ‘awkward’ issue with Vardy over concerns that Rebekah was ‘causing problems and distractions’ for the team.
He told the court about the conversation with Jamie, saying: ‘We were in the games room, there was table tennis. I spoke to him, he had a can of Red Bull and I had a coffee, I remember those details because it was so awkward.’
Speaking about Hodgson’s request, Rooney said: ‘They asked me to, as captain, would I be able to speak to Mr Vardy on issues regarding his wife and I think we all knew we spoke about it, it was an awkward subject.’
Conflict: Coleen accused Rebekah of leaking ‘false stories’ about her private life in October 2019. Rebekah (pictured with husband Jamie) denies the allegations and has sued Coleen
Among the issues was the idea Rebekah had ‘some kind of column in The Sun’, the court heard. Wayne said the boss wanted him ‘to ask his wife to calm down and not bring any issues off the field that were unnecessary’.
Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC asked him: ‘Ask his wife to calm down… she wasn’t dancing on tables?’ Wayne – who had earlier sworn to tell the truth while holding a Bible in his hand – said: ‘No, I wasn’t aware of that. It was a lot of negativity amongst a lot of media coverage which as a group of players and as the manager of England he didn’t want that to happen, so he asked would I be able to speak to Jamie and I went and done so.’
Wayne added: ‘I think there was a few things at the time with Rebekah which the leaders of the team asked me to speak to Jamie about. I was at the understanding Rebekah had a column in The Sun newspaper and as I state… I obviously had better things on my mind. It was obviously awkward for me.’
Wayne added that there had been negative media coverage, saying: ‘I was asked to speak to Mr Vardy by the England manager and I carried out that instruction. It was an awkward situation for me and I’m sure it was an awkward situation for Mr Vardy, but I felt it was in the best interests of the team.’
When told that Jamie denied he was asked to get Rebekah to ‘calm down’, Wayne said: ‘I’m sat here on oath. I 100 per cent spoke to Mr Vardy. If he wants to speak that and relay that back to his wife that’s entirely his business.’
Struggling: Wayne (pictured in a court sketch), 36, also said that neither he or his wife wanted to be in court as he claimed the case has been ‘really traumatic’ for Coleen
Wayne added that he did not remember him and Jamie speaking to a Sun journalist.
‘As England captain I would always try and protect the players in public as much as I could,’ Rooney said. He later added: ‘Everyone knows the history between Liverpudlians and The Sun newspaper, I never spoken to a Sun journalist on a personal level.’
On Tuesday, Jamie made his first appearance at the trial as he joined his wife Rebekah to hear former England teammate Wayne give evidence in the libel case against Coleen. He spoke one day after his wife Coleen also gave evidence and described messages between Rebekah and her agent about her as ‘just evil’.
Jamie, making his first appearance at court, was clearly a comfort for Rebekah, as they sat holding hands. She was seen leaning onto his shoulder with her arm in the crook of his.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Rebekah referred to Rooney’s cousin Claire Rooney as ‘Wayne’s chavvy sister’ in messages to her agent Caroline Watt. Claire, who was said to be ‘close’ to the couple, told how the pair appeared to suggest that she may be the source of leaks from Coleen’s private Instagram account.
Football: Wayne also revealed he was asked by England manager Roy Hodgson to request that Jamie Vardy asked his wife Rebekah to ‘calm down’ during Euro 2016 in France
In a written statement, she said she was provided with an extract of Rebekah’s WhatsApp messages to Ms Watt in February 2019.
She said: ‘In that exchange they appear to be discussing the fact that someone else must also be selling stories on Coleen because a story had appeared in The Sun which they say they weren’t responsible for. I can see that Caroline Watt suggests ‘It’s probably someone like Wayne’s chavvy sister’.
‘Wayne doesn’t have a sister and so I assume that Caroline Watt is referring to me as Wayne’s cousin and because I still have the Rooney surname. I have never met Caroline Watt in my life nor have I ever spoken to her. I am not aware that Coleen has either. I can confirm that I have never leaked information about Coleen or Wayne, or anyone else for that matter, to the press.’
Claire told the court how she had 800 friends and family on her own private Instagram account. Describing the aftermath of Coleen’s ‘Wagatha Christie’ post, she said: ‘She put a couple of posts on her Instagram. I didn’t discuss it with her. I didn’t feel the need to ask her any more questions.’
Rooney’s manager Paul Stretford also gave evidence today and said Rooney raised the issue of his wife facing leaks of her information in 2017.
Support: On Tuesday, Jamie made his first appearance at the trial as he joined his wife Rebekah to hear former England teammate Wayne give evidence in the libel case against Coleen
He said: ‘He mentioned Coleen was extremely upset regarding leaks about her private information and she was in a position where she didn’t know who to trust and was extremely upset.’
Mr Stretford said he did not discuss this with Coleen, adding: ‘I took Mr Rooney at his word and we took it from there.’
Mr Stretford, who has worked with the star since he was a teenager and helped Coleen design the couple’s £30million mansion, said he heard no more about it until Coleen’s Wagatha Christie post in 2019.
In his written statement, Mr Stretford added: ‘From memory, I think the leaks were mentioned to me by Wayne at one stage and he said that she was really upset about it and it was playing with her head because she did not know who she could trust.
‘I did not speak about it in any more detail. I certainly did not discuss who might be responsible and had no discussions with Coleen about any suspicions that she might have had at the time – Rebekah Vardy’s name was certainly never mentioned to me.’
Evidence: Wayne spoke one day after his wife Coleen gave evidence and described messages between Rebekah and her agent about her as ‘just evil’
Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC also asked Mr Stretford about a notification he received from The Sun, about a story regarding Coleen Rooney and a ‘minor car crash’. He instructed Rooneys’ PR representative Rachel Monk not to give ‘any assistance to The Sun in their enquiries’, in this case.
Mr Stretford said he ‘did not consult’ the Rooneys on how to respond. He said this was because he was already aware of all the information in the incident, which he described as a ‘bump’ which happened about six weeks prior.
Mr Tomlinson asked why he did not tell Ms Monk to ‘tell them the true position’. Mr Stretford said: ‘I didn’t wish to assist The Sun in their quest to stand up a story from wherever they got it from at the time.’
The court has heard Coleen’s claim that the story was based on a post on her private Instagram account where she showed a photo of the damage, accompanied by the caption: ‘RIP Half a Honda’.
Week two: Coleen Rooney walks past photographers as she arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, after the trial entered its second week
The court also heard that Ms Watt was set up to to ‘take the blame’ for leaking stories from Coleen’s Instagram account. In return Rebekah had agreed she would’ look after’ her agent and friend ‘behind the scenes’, it is claimed.
Mr Stretford told of Ms Watt’s alleged sacking in the aftermath of Coleen’s Wagatha Christie post. He told the court that he received a call from PR expert Ian Monk who broke the news of the ‘sacking’ ‘sometime between October 11 and 15, 2019.
In court documents he said: ‘Ian told me that he had been informed that a note had been sent round to all news desks that Rebekah Vardy had sacked Caroline Watt as her agent.’
He said any updates or information relating to the matter from then would be coming from Rebekah’s solicitors.
He added: ‘I recall having a discussion with Ian Monk and it was my understanding that there were rumours circulating at the time that Rebekah Vardy was going to be severing ties with Caroline Watt albeit she would look after Caroline Watt behind the scenes in return for Caroline Watt publicly taking the blame for having leaked Coleen’s Instagram stories and posts to The Sun.’
Couple: Jamie, making his first appearance at court, was clearly a comfort for Rebekah, as they arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice holding hands
Giving evidence about the sacking claim, Mr Stretford told the court he was given the information after meeting Mr Monk at London Euston train station. Asked about the claim, he said: ‘I was given the information by Mr Monk and put it in my statement.’
Mr Stretford denied Mr Monk had merely ‘passed on a rumour’ saying: ‘I’m not sure that he would be passing on a rumour. I would expect and hope he would be passing something on from knowledge.’
He also dismissed a suggestion the claim may have been made because Rebekah was being subjected to ‘absolutely unacceptable’ levels of abuse in the aftermath of Coleen’s revelation. Mr Stretford described Coleen as ‘a very private person’.
Coleen finished her evidence yesterday, having first walked into the witness box of Court 13 on Friday.
Case: Coleen finished her evidence yesterday, having first walked into the witness box of Court 13 on Friday
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