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Coleen Rooney has broken her silence on her “Wagatha Christie” court battle against Rebekah Vardy, saying: “What I said in that post, I still stick by today.”

Rooney, the wife of former England star Wayne, publicly claimed in October 2019 that Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie, shared three fake stories posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper.

Her online sleuthing – which involved posting false stories and limiting who could see them – drew comparisons to Agatha Christie, the famed crime novelist.

Recalling the night before, Rooney said in an interview with British Vogue: “I’d started thinking about what I was going to do. I just wanted these stories to stop.

“So I started writing what I wanted to say and then the next morning I put it out there. That was the start of something that I would never have expected.”

Vardy attempted to sue her fellow WAG for defamation.

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The Wagatha Christie trial – explained

Legal case was ‘scary’

The social media drama subsequently sparked a high-profile libel trial – and Vardy was ordered to pay Rooney’s legal costs after losing the case.

She said they were “in the same world” – so she thought Vardy would be similarly protective of family privacy.

Though Vardy “wasn’t a friend” and they “never socialised”, Rooney said she had never fallen out with another footballer’s partner before.

“I’ve never been in a legal case before so for me it was scary,” she said.

“What a horrible experience.”

“It was so difficult in that courtroom,” she continued, “especially watching her on the stand. It was quite painful. I felt uneasy.”

Read more: Wagatha Christie court case – as it happened

Rooney said text messages revealed in court between Vardy and her former agent Caroline Watt, in which they talked about her late sister Rosie, who died from Rett syndrome in 2013 aged 14, “knocked me sick”.

She also spoke about her wardrobe for the trial.

“I’d rather spend money on a holiday wardrobe than a court wardrobe,” she said, adding that having broken her foot a few weeks earlier which was still in a medical boot by the time of the trial, she bought a couple of pairs of trousers.

Her husband carried her Fendi tote bag into court for her on the first day, and continued to do so every day after that. “I think it was a superstition thing,” she said.

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Coleen Rooney and her husband, Wayne
Image:
The bag gained more popularity than Coleen’s medical boot

‘It’s my story to tell’

Rooney also revealed the trial impacted their relationship at the time.

“He was supportive, you know, but it took its toll. He kept saying all the way throughout it ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be fine’. But there were certain moments where we did have disagreements. Not over the case, but he would get annoyed with me because I was quite short-tempered. You know, I didn’t have time for him. I lost my focus.”

She has recently been filming for a new three-part fly-on-the-wall Disney+ documentary about the court case.

“I felt like everyone else has spoken about it except me,” she said. “And it’s my story to tell.”

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s title parade faces 24 new charges.

More than 130 people, including children, were injured when Paul Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy vehicle into hordes of fans at the celebrations on 26 May.

The 53-year-old, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was originally charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of dangerous driving.

Six of the new alleged offences relate to babies, including one six-month-old and one seven-month-old, proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

The new indictment, which was not read out in court, now has 31 counts relating to 29 victims, aged between six months and 77 years old.

Doyle now faces 18 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding with intent, one count of dangerous driving and one count of affray.

He appeared in court via video link from prison and was in tears.

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He did not enter any pleas during the hearing, which lasted around 20 minutes.

The case was adjourned until 4 September, when Doyle is expected to enter pleas.

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

Travellers are being warned about mosquito bites on holiday after a rise in chikungunya infections in people returning to the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the first cases of the emerging oropouche virus had been recorded.

Chikungunya typically causes sudden fever and joint pain, which can be debilitating, and lasts from a few days to weeks.

The name comes from a word in a Tanzanian language meaning “that which bends up”, owing to the joint pain associated with it.

Most people recover but in some cases the symptoms can last several months or even years.

It’s spread by mosquito bites in tropical and subtropical regions, and most of the 73 cases reported in the UK so far this year were in London and linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius.

Only 27 cases were reported in the same January to June period last year.

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Chikungunya can’t spread directly from person to person – so if someone becomes ill in the UK, they can’t pass the infection on, and the mosquitos responsible aren’t present here.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at the UKHSA, said it can be a “nasty disease” and the increase in cases was “worrying”.

“It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling,” he said.

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“Simple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering up your skin and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can greatly reduce the risk.”

Chikungunya is mainly found in Asia and Africa, but cases have been reported in Europe and North America this year.

Two vaccines to guard against the infection are available in the UK from private travel clinics.

The first cases of the Oropouche virus have also been confirmed in Britain, according to the UKHSA.

It’s spread by midge and mosquito bites and the three cases are all linked to travel to Brazil.

Oropouche was first identified in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1950s and had been mainly confined to the Amazon area.

However, cases have been increasing since 2023 and have shown up in places such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Peru.

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Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

Anyone who gets such symptoms after being in Central and South America or the Caribbean is advised to get urgent medical advice.

Most people recover on their own, but it can cause severe disease in the very elderly or those with a weak immune system.

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

A man staying at a hotel that has been the focus of a series of protests has denied a charge of sexual assault and faces a trial next month.

Mohammed Sharwarq, a 32-year-old Syrian national, was arrested after police were called to the Bell Hotel on the Epping High Road in Essex yesterday, police said.

Sharwarq, who is alleged to have kissed a man on the neck, indicated a plea of not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today.

He indicated guilty pleas to six further charges concerning four complainants – with two counts of common assault and four of assault by beating.

Sharwarq is alleged to have punched a man in the face, thrown an object at a man, slapped a third man in the face and attempted to punch a fourth.

Sky News understands the alleged offences took place inside the hotel between 25 July and 12 August.

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District judge Lynette Woodrow remanded Sharwarq, who was assisted in court by an Arabic interpreter, in custody until his trial on 30 September.

The arrest followed weeks of protests outside the hotel.

Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said last month that the protests were a crisis that “risks boiling over”.

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