EXCLUSIVE: Coleen Rooney offers to END legal battle with Rebekah Vardy in 11th hour peace deal – but only if rival WAG accepts her Instagram account was the source of leaked stories

• The offer was made in correspondence from Coleen’s lawyers to the Vardy side before a failed mediation hearing between the two parties earlier this month
• Sources have indicated that Coleen, 34, finds the cost of litigation ‘grotesque’ in current circumstances, believing the money could be better spent elsewhere
• As such, she has previously offered to ‘drop hands’ – a lawyers’ term meaning both sides pay their own legal costs – with the rivals also donating to charity
• DOI’s Rebekah, 39, has rejected all Coleen’s offers, meaning that the libel action she brought against Coleen looks set to go to a full court hearing later this year
• Rebekah launched a £1 million High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an October 2019 Instagram post of being the source of leaks to the media
• Coleen’s lawyers argued that she hadn’t implied Rebekah herself was guilty
• But Judge Mark Warby ruled against this, saying the post looked as though it put the blame solely on Vardy, rather that someone who has access to her account

Coleen Rooney’s 11th hour peace offer to Rebekah Vardy to settle their Wagatha Christie legal battle can be exclusively revealed in full today by MailOnline.

The offer on the table from Coleen’s team is that if Rebekah, 39, accepts her Instagram account was the source of leaked stories to the press, then she is willing to accept Rebekah’s assurances that she personally knew nothing about the leaks.

Sources have repeatedly indicated that Coleen, 34 – married to footballer Wayne Rooney – has always found the cost of litigation ‘grotesque’ in the current circumstances, believing the money could be better spent elsewhere.

That is why she has repeatedly offered to settle – previously offering to ‘drop hands’ – a lawyers’ term meaning both sides pay their own legal costs – with each of the footballers’ wives also donating to charity. 

Details: Coleen Rooney’s 11th hour peace offer to Rebekah Vardy to settle their Wagatha Christie legal battle can be revealed in full today by MailOnline. Coleen is pictured in October

It is understood that the latest offer was made in correspondence from Coleen’s lawyers to the Vardy side before a failed mediation hearing between the two parties earlier this month.

Dancing On Ice contestant Rebekah, who is married to footballer Jamie Vardy, has rejected all Coleen’s offers, meaning that the libel action she brought against Coleen looks set to go to a full court hearing later this year.

But legal observers believe Coleen’s climb-down could mean that her team are preparing to ‘throw in the towel completely’ and simply apologise for the posts implicating Rebekah in a series of leaks, and bring the entire matter to a close.

In those circumstances, it is likely that Coleen would have to meet the legal costs of both sides. 

Leaks: Coleen has offered to end her feud with Rebekah Vardy (pictured in February 2020) if her rival WAG accepts that her Instagram account was the source of leaked stories to the press

The new move does cast doubt on the strength of Coleen’s case, as her side lost an intermediary ‘meanings hearing’ in November.

At that round of the case, the dispute was over the wording of Coleen’s social media post, which she put up for her 1.2 million Twitter followers and 885,000 Instagram followers to see last year.

Rooney named the culprit of the leaks as ‘Rebekah Vardy’s account’, and her lawyers argued that she hadn’t implied Rebekah herself was guilty – and instead the culprit could have been anyone with access to her Instagram account.

But Judge Mark Warby ruled against this, saying the post looked as though it was putting the blame solely on Vardy.

Ongoing: Coleen (pictured with footballer husband Wayne Rooney in 2016) said she discovered the alleged betrayal by carrying out a months-long ‘sting operation’

He ruled that Coleen’s post ‘clearly identified’ Rebekah as being ‘guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust’.

The judge said an ordinary reader would not take the word ‘account’ to ‘indicate that she remains in doubt about who the wrongdoer was’.

Under the law of libel, that means the onus was now on Coleen’s side to prove that not only did the posts come from Rebekah’s account, but also that she was responsible.

As one legal observer put it: ‘If Coleen’s side are ready to accept that Rebekah wasn’t responsible for the posts, yet they’re still ready to continue the case, you begin to wonder what is the point of continuing?’

Rebekah launched her £1 million High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an October 2019 Instagram post of being the source of leaks to the media.

Drama: Passions remain high between the two WAGS, with Rebekah adamant that Coleen should delete her accusatory post (pictured with footballer husband Jamie Vardy in 2017)

The long-running feud between the high-profile WAGS erupted after Coleen revealed that she had set a trap to see who was responsible for the leaks, which earned her the nickname ‘Wagatha Christie’.rebekah vardy age

Coleen famously wrote: ‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s ……………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’

Soon after, Rebekah took to social media to deny being the leaker after Coleen’s post went viral.

Last February, Rebekah broke down on ITV’s Loose Women, saying the feud was ‘one of the worst things I had to deal with apart from being abused when I was younger’.

Last June, it emerged that Rebekah had launched a case to sue Coleen for £1 million.

Where it all began: Rebekah was accused by her former friend of leaking false stories about her personal life to the media in October 2019, something she vehemently denies 

In October 2020, Coleen ‘doubled down’ by filing her 55-page defence and sharing images of the Instagram posts she alleged Rebekah leaked.

The following month, Rebekah won the first round of her High Court libel battle at the ‘meanings hearing’

Earlier this month, the pair attended a court-ordered mediation session on Zoom, their first meeting for years.

Zoom proceedings began with both sides reading out a statement and then breaking off into separate virtual rooms as the mediator spoke to them and their legal representatives independently. 

Former columnist Coleen reportedly tried to reach out to brunette Rebekah after another round of failed talks to avoid a costly legal battle. 

However, it’s thought that she saw the mediation as a ‘waste of time’ as TV star Becky continues to demand she apologise for her fierce accusation.

How Wagatha Christie row exploded from one Instagram post… to the High Court

October 9, 2019: Coleen Rooney accuses Rebekah Vardy of ‘leaking stories about her’ to The Sun. 

Coleen famously wrote: ‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s ……………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’ 

October 9, 2019: Rebekah takes to her social media to deny being the leaker as Coleen’s post goes viral, while a Sun spokesman refuses to comment on the source of their stories.  

February 13, 2020: Rebekah breaks down on ITV’s Loose Women, saying the spat was ‘one of the worst things I had to deal with apart from being abused when I was younger’. 

June 22, 2020: It emerges that Rebekah has launched a case to sue Coleen for £1m. 

October 02, 2020: Coleen files her 55-page defence and shares images of the Instagram posts she alleges Rebekah leaked. 

November 20, 2020 Rebekah wins the first round of her High Court libel battle.   

January 18, 2021: Reporters emerge that the pair will be holding a mediation session over Zoom. 

February 4: The pair attend the mediation session, in their first meeting for years.  

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