McCartney Refutes Divorce Claim Of Wasting Good Vino On Heather's Cranium

McCartney responds to divorce claims

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills speak in New York in this 2002 file
photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FILE)
LONDON -- Lawyers for Paul McCartney said Wednesday that the former
Beatle will "vigorously" defend himself against allegations made by his
estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Wednesday reported details of an
alleged court document containing accounts of acrimony and mistreatment
during their four-year marriage.

"Our client will be defending these allegations vigorously and
appropriately," the law firm Payne Hicks Beach said in a statement.

The 64-year-old rocker and 38-year-old anti-land mine campaigner
announced their separation in May and have begun divorce proceedings in
an increasingly acrimonious split. They have a 3-year-old daughter,
Beatrice.

The Daily Mail published extracts from what it said was a court
document filed by Mills McCartney in response to the former Beatle's
July divorce petition.

The alleged document contains a litany of allegations against the
musician.

Mills McCartney's spokesman, Phil Hall, described the divorce
proceedings as "highly confidential" and said he could not confirm
whether the document was genuine. He said Mills McCartney had been
"shocked" by the story in the Daily Mail.

Mishcon de Reya, the law firm representing Mills McCartney in the
divorce, said it would not comment on "leaked or allegedly leaked
documents."

Paul McCartney's law firm said the musician "would very much like to
respond in public and in detail to the allegations made recently
against him by his wife and published in the press but he recognizes,
on advice, that the only correct forum for his response to the
allegations made against him is in the current divorce proceedings."

"Our client is saddened by the breakdown of his marriage and requests
that his family is allowed to conduct their personal affairs out of the
media spotlight for the sake of everybody involved," the statement
added.