Coleen Rooney claims her legal fees during Wagatha Christie libel battle with Rebekah Vardy more than £1.8m, court hears
Coleen Rooney claims her legal fees during her high-profile legal battle with Rebekah Vardy came up to over £1.8m, the High Court has been told.
Returning to court two years after the original trial, the women’s lawyers have returned to court in a dispute over legal costs.
The case, which gained worldwide attention after it came to court in the summer of 2022, was dubbed “Wagatha Christie” in a nod to the famous British crime novelist and Rooney‘s detective skills.
The wife of ex-England footballer Wayne Rooney accused Vardy of leaking stories from her private Instagram account to The Sun newspaper.
She did so via a social media post in 2019 which went viral, receiving over 370,000 engagements on Twitter, including almost 50,000 retweets.
Vardy then sued Rooney over the post, with the case heard over nine days at the High Court in 2022, ultimately losing the legal action.
The judge overseeing the case, Mrs Justice Steyn, found the post to be “substantially true”, and ordered Vardy to pay 90% of Rooney’s legal costs.
After winning the case, Rooney said it should never have gone to court “when the money could have been far better spent helping others”.
In the latest development in the case, Vardy’s lawyers say Rooney has claimed a legal bill totalling £1,833,906.89. They say part of those costs are fees for a five-star hotel and swanky restaurant.
Rebekah Vardy with husband Jamie outside the High Court in 2022. Pic: PA
Some of the costs claimed labelled ‘extraordinary’
In written submissions for a hearing on Monday, Jamie Carpenter KC, who is representing Vardy, described a bill for a lawyer staying “at the Nobu Hotel, incurring substantial dinner and drinks charges as well as mini bar charges”.
He said: “The costs dispute has been rendered particularly intractable by the sheer magnitude of the costs claimed by Mrs Rooney, in absolute terms and when compared to her agreed costs budget, the number of errors in the bill and the extraordinary nature of some of the costs claimed.
“The bill, drawn at 100% of the costs claimed… totals £1,833,906.89.”
Mr Carpenter said the bill was “drawn without sufficient care” and had “a ‘kitchen sink’ approach”, and included “over £120,000 of costs to which Mrs Rooney has no entitlement”.
Wayne and Coleen Rooney outside the High Court in 2022. Pic: PA
Working on Christmas Day
Earlier this year, Rooney’s lawyers challenged parts of Vardy’s legal bill of around £325,000, of which 20% will have to be paid by Rooney.
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They called Vardy’s costs, which included payment for her trial barrister, Hugh Tomlinson KC, to work on Christmas Day “unreasonable and disproportionate”.
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Neither Rooney nor Vardy attended the hearing, which is being overseen by senior costs judge Andrew Gordon-Saker.
It is due to conclude on Wednesday.
Top Boy actor Micheal Ward has been charged with two counts of rape and is due to appear in court next month.
Ward, 27, has also been charged with two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.
The offences relate to one woman and are reported to have taken place in January 2023.
“Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward – we know investigations of this nature can have a significant impact on those who make reports,” said Detective Superintendent Scott Ware, whose team is leading the Met Police’s investigation.
Ward at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 15 July during a press call for his upcoming film Eddington. Pic: PA
Ward, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 28 August, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Ward said he denies the charges of rape and sexual assault, adding in a statement: “I recognise that proceedings are now ongoing, and I have full faith that they will lead to my name being cleared.”
In a statement, Catherine Baccas, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “We remind all concerned that proceedings against the suspect are active and he has a right to a fair trial.
“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.”
Michael Ward has been charged with rape and sexual assault. He is pictured in October 2023. Pic: PA
Ward starred in the popular Netflix series Top Boy as Jamie. He also appeared in films like Blue Story, The Old Guard and Empire of Light.
In 2020, the Jamaican-born actor was awarded the Bafta Rising Star honour in 2020.
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He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Bafta in 2021 for his role as Franklyn in the BBC series Small Axe, and 2022 for his performance as Stephen in Empire of Light.
Ward is also in the upcoming American film Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, which is set to be released in the UK next month.
Ward is pictured during the opening night of A View From The Bridge at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in June 2024. Pic: PA
He has more than a million followers on Instagram and participated in charity events like the Soccer Aid match at Stamford Bridge last year.
Ward gave a reading at the Christmas Eve carol service hosted by the Princess of Wales in 2023.
Kelly Osbourne has commented on the death of her father Ozzy Osbourne for the first time since he died on Tuesday.
The figurehead of heavy metal died aged 76, just a few weeks after performing a huge farewell show with his Black Sabbath bandmates in Birmingham, where the band was formed in 1968.
After the show, Kelly got engaged to her longtime partner and musician Sid Wilson, of the band Slipknot, after he got down on one knee backstage.
After the frontman passed away on Tuesday, the Osbourne family released a joint statement that read: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
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The life of Ozzy Osbourne
In her first comments since losing her father, Kelly wrote on Instagram: “I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had,” followed by a broken heart emoji.
She was quoting lyrics from the 1972 Black Sabbath song Changes.
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The father and daughter were famously close, appearing on The Osbournes reality TV show together and covering the song Changes as a duet in 2003.
“That song stands for so much in our family and to me and Dad,” Kelly said on the TV show Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, starring her brother, Jack.
“It was not only both of our first number one [single] in the UK, it represented a time in my life and a time in Dad’s life, it represented our relationship and how much we loved each other.”
Black Sabbath are widely credited with having invented heavy metal, but the piano ballad Changes widely deviated from their usual guitar and drum-heavy style.
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The band Coldplay also used the song to pay tribute to Ozzy this week, playing a stripped back, short version of Changes in a show in Nashville, Tennessee.
After the song, frontman Chris Martin said: “Ozzy, we love you, wherever you’re going.”
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Riverdance star Michael Flatley is hoping to become Ireland’s next president, a court has heard.
The revelation came out in a legal case over work done on his mansion in County Cork, the Castlehyde.
Barrister Ronnie Hudson said there had been a “material change in circumstances” for Flatley and he’s set to move back to Ireland in the next two weeks in the hope of running in autumn’s election.
A legal statement signed by the star’s solicitor, Maxwell Mooney, was also submitted to the High Court stating Flatley would “seek nominations to run for president of Ireland”.
Flatley rose to fame when Riverdance, which features traditional Irish music and dance, became a phenomenon in the 1990s and went on to tour the world. It continues to be performed today.
The choreographer and dancer also created and starred in Lord Of The Dance.
The 67-year-old – who currently lives in Monaco – strongly hinted at a presidential bid last week, but said he hadn’t made a final decision.
He told a radio interview he didn’t think the Irish people had a “true proper deep voice that speaks their language”.
Flatley said the “average person on the street” is unhappy with the status quo and “somebody has to speak for the Irish people”.
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The role of president in Ireland is largely ceremonial and is currently held by Michael D Higgins, whose term ends on 11 November.
The election is expected to take place at the end of October.
A candidate needs nominations from at least 20 members of the Irish parliament or at least four local authorities.
Those who’ve already met the criteria are former farming journalist and EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness, and former Galway mayor Catherine Connolly.
Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor is among others who have also hinted they might run – although the prospect was universally rejected by other politicians in Ireland.
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