Rebekah Vardy to deny Coleen Rooney’s claims that she leaked stories to the press

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Rebekah Vardy is expected to make a bombshell courtroom denial of Coleen Rooney‘s claims that she was ‘The Secret Wag’, the Sun newspaper’s source of stories about Coleen and other footballers’ partners MailOnline can reveal.

It is understood Rebekah’s evidence to the judge trying the pair’s forthcoming libel case will be that she was wrongly accused in Coleen’s secret ‘Wagatha Christie’ sting operation on social media, according to sources.

However, while the pair were expected to come face to face on Thursday – with husbands Jamie and Wayne in tow – MailOnline understands only their lawyers are likely to be present on behalf of their clients.

Rebekah launched a £1m High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an Instagram post a year ago of leaking stories about her and others to the media.

The latest move follows Coleen’s sensational 55-page defence document, exclusively revealed by MailOnline last month, in which she set out in granular detail why she thought Rebekah was behind the anonymous ‘Secret Wag’ column in The Sun.

She described Rebekah as having an ‘established history and habitual practice of providing private information to journalists’.

But MailOnline can reveal that Rebekah, 38, has now told pals that she will deny being the ‘Secret Wag’.

A source said: ‘Becky is set to swear publicly and on oath to the High Court that she was not the so-called Secret Wag for the newspaper.’

The Secret Wag issue is seen as central by lawyers on both sides in establishing whether Rebecca did leak stories from Coleen’s private social media accounts to The Sun, which she has consistently denied.

The first hearing of the libel case is set for Thursday with both Wags preparing to do battle.

However, a source close to the case said: ‘Neither Coleen or Becky are expected to be there which may come as a disappointment to many who have been following the case and who wanted to see them go head to head.

‘Instead solicitors will be slugging it out. Both legal teams have clear instructions – win at any cost.’

Rebekah’s denial will form the crucial part of the case against her rival who accused her of leaking stories to the media and being the Sun’s squealer.

During the hearing it is understood that mum-of-four Coleen will have to explain what she meant in her allegations and show she has ‘reasonable grounds’ to claim that Rebekah made up the stories ‘directly or indirectly’.

While Rebekah and her legal team will have to describe how she is intending to proceed in her libel claim against Coleen at the half-day hearing.

After hearing both sides’ arguments, a judge will then set out the parameters for the trial which will kick off in full next year.

The ‘Wagatha Christie’ saga began a year ago when Coleen Tweeted that she had secretly planted three fake stories on Instagram in the months before, but said she blocked all her followers except Rebekah from seeing them.

After stories appeared which contained references to the faked posts, Coleen famously declared the results of her investigation, announcing: ‘It’s . . . Rebekah Vardy’s account.’

The mother-of-four, who shares Kai, 10, Klay, seven, Kit, four, and Cass, two, with Derby County footballer Wayne, also 34, is determined to fight off the libel case.

But for her part, Rebekah is seeking substantial damages and says she has suffered ‘severe and extreme hostility and abuse’ in the fallout after the claims were published on Instagram.

She said she had been left suicidal by the accusations against her.

She vowed to fight and told Good Morning Britain: ‘I need to clear my name, I want to clear my name. I will do whatever it takes, and I hope it’s going to be resolved soon.’

Last month’s document filed by Coleen’s lawyers made it clear she stands by every word of the Tweets and Instagram posts which prompted Rebekah to take legal action.

She named a host of journalists and showbiz agents who Rebekah allegedly was in contact with over various leaked stories.

It refers to ‘The Claimant’s [Vardy’s] established history and habitual practice of providing private information to journalists and the press, including The Sun and The Sun on Sunday newspapers, with whom she has especially close relationships.

‘The Claimant sometimes provided this directly, sometimes anonymously (under the pseudonym, ‘the Secret Wag’, a regular gossip column in The Sun for which she was the source, despite her denying this) and sometimes through third parties who were acting as approved or condoned by her.’

Model Danielle Lloyd also got caught up in the dispute when she posted remarks on the internet backing Coleen’s claim that Rebekah was the Sun’s informant.

But Rebekah’s legal team warned her not to make ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ against their client.

Ms Lloyd’s lawyer Tony Nelson told MailOnline his client had received a letter from Rebekah’s lawyers.

But he added: ‘She is the mother of four children and has far more important things to do in her life than become involved in anything like this.

‘As far as she is concerned the matter is at an end.’

A spokesman for Coleen, told of Rebekah’s move to deny she was the ‘Secret Wag’ in the High Court, also declined to comment.

The Sun Newspapers Managing Editor Victoria Watson said: ‘We’ve got no comment to make on this.’