Perroncel: 'Silence led to vilification'

Vanessa Perroncel's legal team has reportedly warned seven national newspapers that she is moving to sue over breach of privacy and libel.

An official inquiry has also been launched following the French model's suspicions that her voicemail messages were intercepted in the midst of the tabloid storm surrounding her alleged affair with John Terry.

Perroncel described the experience as "a nightmare" in an interview with The Guardian, adding: "Every day you think, 'What else are they going to say about me?' It is so intrusive and so false. Every day, so many lies – and then people making judgements because of the lies."

Her lawyer, Charlotte Harris of JMW Solicitors, said: "Suing is a last resort. We hoped the newspapers would stop behaving in this way, this vilification. But in the end, we have no option but to get tough."

Formal "letters before action" for breach of privacy have been sent to the News of the World and The Sun; The Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and The People; and the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.

The separate Information Commissioner's Office probe focuses on the phone records of Perroncel and one of her close friends, Antonia Graham. One allegation involves the interception of a live telephone call between the two women. There is no current evidence to indicate who was responsible for any interception, whether it may have been a newspaper or somebody acting on a paper's behalf, or a completely unrelated person.