McCartney; no comment on wife's mistreatment claims

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) Paul McCartney today declined to comment on reported claims by his estranged wife Heather Mills McCartney that he physically attacked her during their tempestuous four-year marriage.

A spokesman for the former Beatle told Reuters McCartney was saying nothing for the moment.

Mills' lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, also refused to comment on the leaked court documents that splashed details of alleged abusive behaviour by McCartney across British media.

But Mill's representatives said in a statement that Mills ''stands by everything that has been filed at court on her behalf''.

The Daily Mail today reported that Heather Mills had claimed in court papers lodged by her lawyers that McCartney had stabbed her in the arm with a broken wine glass and grabbed her by the neck to choke her.

McCartney, 64, and former model Mills, 38, announced their separation in May, blaming media intrusion for the failure of one of the most high-profile marriages in show business.

The newspaper reported claims that he used illegal drugs and drank excessively, hurled abuse at Mills and made her cancel an operation on the leg she lost in a traffic accident before they married because it interfered with his holiday plans.

She claimed that McCartney did not want her to breastfeed their baby daughter, saying ''they are my breasts'', the paper reported.

Heather's press spokesman Phil Hall said she was shocked to see the allegations published today.

''She has kept a dignified silence. She has not spoken about anything and that is still her view. She won't speak about anything,'' he told ITV1's This Morning show.

The divorce has turned into a public battle for sympathy fought out under a glaring media spotlight.

In an echo of the bitter fight between Prince Charles and Princess Diana, McCartney and Mills have hired the same lawyers that represented the heir to the throne and his late wife.

McCartney could lose up to a quarter of his estimated 825 million pound (1.55 billion dollar) fortune. That would equate to about one million pounds for each week of their four-year marriage.

At first McCartney and Mills said that for the sake of their daughter, the breakup would be amicable.

But since then, celebrity-obsessed tabloids have been peppered with tales of the separation. Lurid allegations about her past were countered with tales about her being locked out of the family home.

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