Heather McCartney blames tabloids for her problems

Heather Mills McCartney feared for her life because of death threats and partially blamed tabloid newspapers for her problems. That is why she did not give interviews for a long time. But now she decided to break out of her silence surrounding her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Photo: Heather McCartney blames tabloids for her problems

Mills McCartney appeared on an ITV television morning show to complain about media coverage, and to announce that she would seek European legislation to compel newspapers to apologize for untruthful stories. She also urged the public to stop buying sensationalist newspapers.

"We've had death threats, I've been close to suicide. I'm so upset about this," Mills McCartney said on the ITV show. "I've had worse press than a pedophile or a murderer and I've done nothing but charity for 20 years."

She also said she had taken precautions because of death threats.

"I have a box of evidence that's going to a certain person, should anything happen to me, so if you top me off it's still going to that person, and the truth will come out," she said.

"There is so much fear from a certain party of the truth coming out that lots of things have been put out and done, so the police came round and said 'you have had serious death threats from an underground movement."'

She was also asked in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview later Wednesday whether tabloid newspapers were at fault.

"It's the tabloids and a certain party, but it is so extreme and so abusive ... I mean, I've been called monster, whore, gold digger, fantasist, liar."

When asked what she meant by "a certain party," Mills McCartney, who is still negotiating a financial settlement in her divorce case, declined to comment.

"I can't say that because I'll be done for contempt of court. I'm not allowed to talk about Paul and the court case and all that kind of stuff, because we are in court," she said.

Mills McCartney was also asked in the BBC interview if she feared for her life and she replied, "Yes I do, yes I do," she said.

She was then asked, "And you are saying that Paul McCartney does not protect you and your child?"

"I'm afraid not," Mills McCartney said.

The couple announced their separation in May and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

"I am the one that is abused daily," Mills McCartney said on the ITV show.

"I have protected Paul for this long and I am trying to protect him but I am being pushed to the edge, and I don't want my daughter when she is 12 going on the Internet and reading this totally one-sided story."

She denied that she was feeding material to the newspapers.

"I've got 300 friends who came to my daughter's party, and they are biting their tongues not to talk, because they're so loyal," she said. "Even a journalist said to my publicist 'her friends are so loyal, we can't even get them to say a word.' Whereas other people's so-called friends are putting stuff out right, left and center."

Paul McCartney has also complained about media coverage of the divorce, which may produce the biggest financial settlement ever in Britain.

"There's only one real answer to the massive press coverage - don't look," he said in an interview published in May. "So I don't read it."