LONDON (AFP) — Former Beatle Paul McCartney ended a two-year divorce battle with his estranged wife Heather Mills on Monday, after agreeing to a nearly 25 million pound (50 million dollar, 33 million euro) deal.
The former model, who had wanted 125 million pounds from the multi-millionaire singer-songwriter, nevertheless voiced satisfaction with the hard-fought deal struck behind closed doors at the High Court in London.
"I'm so glad it's over and it was an incredible result in the end to secure mine and my daughter's future," Mills, who represented herself in court in the latter stages of proceedings, said on the steps of the court.
"We're very, very, very pleased," the 40-year-old told a scrum of reporters as McCartney, 65, made no comment after a three-hour hearing, saying only "thank you" as he got into a blacked-out limousine.
But the former model turned charity campaigner immediately announced she was to go back to court to challenge a decision to put the full judgment in the public domain, arguing it could put the couple's young daughter at risk.
To do so infringed her right to privacy and family life under human rights legislation, she added in lengthy comments that included attacks on her former lawyers, the courts system and McCartney for not settling earlier.
Asked about her feelings towards McCartney, whom she admitted in an interview last October that she still loved, she replied curtly: "I've got no comment."
A summary of the judgment read that McCartney offered Mills 15.8 million pounds but the judge decided he should pay her 24.3 million pounds -- a lump sum of 16.5 million pounds plus assets of 7.8 million pounds.
The judge found that the total value of McCartney's assets, including his business assets, was about 400 million pounds. There was no evidence at all before him that he was worth 800 million, he added.
Financial provision for the couple's four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, consists of periodical payments of 35,000 pounds each year, with McCartney also agreeing to pay for her nanny and school fees.
The ruling also included a "gagging" order prohibiting either side from publishing or disclosing any further information related to the ruling, for example letters between the two, apart from the initial summary.
The pair spent a week in court in February trying to hammer out how much of his fortune she should get, but they failed to agree and left it to the judge.
Paul Barrow, a top divorce lawyer based in McCartney's northern England hometown of Liverpool, described the judgment as "very fair".
"Although it was a short-lived marriage and a relationship began when Sir Paul was already one of the most successful musicians the world has ever seen, as a couple they did take the momentous decision to have a child together," he said.
Some newspaper reports had speculated that the deal could have been the highest divorce settlement in British history, outstripping the 48 million pounds businessman John Charman was told to pay his former wife last year.
McCartney married Mills in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in June 2002, four years after his first wife, Linda, died from breast cancer.
Mills gave birth to a daughter, Beatrice Milly McCartney, in October 2003.
But endless speculation about their marriage, with reports of furious rows, soon surfaced.
The press never grew fond of Mills and both husband and wife publicly denied that she was a "gold-digger" after his giant fortune.
McCartney defended her, once issuing a statement attempting to "put the record straight" about "ridiculous stories" because "it hurts me to see her wounded".
They announced their "amicable" split in May 2006 -- triggering open warfare between their rival camps.
British newspapers were not kind towards Mills the day after the court decision was made, with Tuesday's Daily Mail heading its front-page story on the settlement: "700 pounds for every hour of their marriage ... and STILL she's moaning."
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