'Wagatha Christie' case: Rebekah Vardy's barrister 'worked on Christmas Day,' court told

ITV News' Ellie Pitt reports on the latest row over legal bills

Rebekah Vardy's leading barrister worked on the Wagatha Christie libel case on Christmas Day, the High Court has heard.

The case returned to the High Court on Tuesday - after Coleen Rooney's lawyers contested an allegedly "unreasonable" legal bill.

Rebekah Vardy lost her high-profile libel case against Coleen Rooney in July 2022, when Mrs Justice Steyn ruled Mrs Rooney's viral social media post accusing Mrs Vardy of leaking her private information to the press was "substantially true".

In October of the same year, the judge ruled Mrs Vardy should pay 90% of Mrs Rooney's legal costs.

Mrs Rooney, the wife of former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney, incurred total costs of more than £2 million. Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, was ordered to pay an initial £800,000 in November 2022.

Mrs Rooney was ordered to pay 20% of the costs of a two-day pre-trial hearing.

But her lawyers say Mrs Vardy's preparation costs, valued at £325,000, are excessive.

Robin Dunne, Mrs Rooney's lawyer, said Mrs Vardy's team had accrued "unreasonable and disproportionate" costs before the trial.

Mrs Vardy's lawyers are opposing the bid to reduce the costs bill. Jamie Carpenter KC, for Mrs Vardy, said there was "barely a day" when her lawyers were not working at the time, including "on Christmas Day."

"This was work that absolutely had to be done and it was a huge amount of work," Mr Carpenter told the Court, adding that "no one was costs building."

The case is being heard before a specialist costs judge, Andrew Gordon-Saker, and is set to include on Wednesday.

The judge will assess the true costs and expenses incurred during civil cases and rule on how much successful parties can recover.

He can also reduce the costs needed or decide whether they are to be deemed unreasonable.

At the heart of Mrs Vardy's libel claim was a viral social media post made by Mrs Rooney. In the post, she said she had carried out a months-long "sting operation", and accused Mrs Vardy of leaking information about her private life to the press.

She publicly claimed Mrs Vardy's account was the source behind three stories in The Sun newspaper, featuring fake details she'd posted on her private Instagram profile - one featuring her travelling to Mexico for a "gender selection" procedure; her planning to return to TV; and the basement flooding in her home.

Following the high-profile trial, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in Mrs Rooney's favour, finding it was "likely" that Mrs Vardy's former agent Caroline Watt had passed information to The Sun and that she "knew and condoned of this behaviour".

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