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Heather Mills, the estranged wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney, has produced a tape in which he allegedly admitted hitting his first wife Linda.
After going on national television to complain bitterly about her treatment by Britain's tabloid media - and saying it had driven her close to suicide - Mills reportedly played the tape off air.
A witness who listened in told The Mirror: "It was extraordinary. Heather and Paul were shouting. He can be heard confessing he hit Linda 'once or twice'."
Earlier, Mills had broken her recent silence about issues surrounding their divorce case, giving two television interviews to promote a campaign calling for a change in laws governing the media that would offer individuals greater protection.
"I've had 18 months of absolute abuse," Mills told the ITV network in an interview during which she fought back tears several times.
"They've called me a whore, a gold-digger, a fantasist, a liar, the most unbelievably hurtful things.
"I've stayed quiet for my daughter. We've had death threats, I've been close to suicide ... I've had worse threats than a paedophile or a murderer and I've done nothing but charity for 20 years," the 39-year-old said.
Mills also announced that she would seek European legislation to compel newspapers to apologise for untruthful stories.
During an interview on the BBC network, Mills was asked whether she feared for her life.
"Yes I do, yes I do," she replied.
"And you are saying that Paul McCartney does not protect you and your child?", the BBC interviewer asked.
"I'm afraid not," Mills said.
Earlier in the day, Mills told ITV's GMTV morning show that 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 told ITV.
"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'."
On the BBC, she was asked if the 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 you say certain party, do you mean someone from Paul McCartney's camp?" BBC reporter Maxine Mawhinney asked.
"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," Mills said.
"But it is, by clear implication, that's what you're saying," BBC reporter Jon Sopel said.
"I can't say, because I'd be in contempt of court. But you're not stupid, that's all I can say."
The Mirror said Paul McCartney had told friends that he feared Mills was on the verge of "a total breakdown".
Paul and Linda's daughter, Stella, was "less than impressed" with Mills' outbursts, according to an unnamed source.
"She remarked, 'Well, it's Halloween, isn't it? That's when all the evil witches come out'," the source told the paper.
Mills, who is still negotiating a financial settlement in the divorce case, urged the public to stop buying sensationalist newspapers.
The couple announced their separation in May and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a three-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
"I am the one that is abused daily," Mills said.
"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 centre."
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."
- AAP
