Mills McCartney hits back at media through lawsuits

Heather Mills McCartney is striking back at British newspapers amid the media frenzy surrounding her divorce from Paul McCartney.

The activist and former model's lawyers announced on Tuesday that she is suing the Daily Mail and London's Evening Standard. Law firm Mishcon de Reya also said another suit will be filed against The Sun.

The firm alleges that media outlets have painted Mills McCartney as a villain during the divorce proceedings, published false statements about her and sent photographers to document her every move.

"She is pursued everywhere she goes. She is stalked by press photographers, who congregate outside her home and chase after her in cars regardless of her safety or the safety of her daughter," the firm said in a statement.

Despite being followed by a host of media outlets, Mills McCartney has decided to focus on the three newspapers named.

"She cannot sue for now, at least every single newspaper that has published false, damaging, and immensely upsetting statements about her," the firm's statementsaid.

Sister offered moneyfor divorce details, suit alleges

The firm also published a letter, purportedly from the Mail and addressed to Mills McCartney's sister, that offers to pay for information about the divorce.

"We ask on behalf of our client for the media, as a matter of common decency, please now to show some restraint," the statement said.

Details and allegations about the couple's marital woes and breakup have been reported across Britain and in the international press for months. British media watchers have said the furor has not been seen since the scandalous marital breakdown of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in the 1990s.

In Britain, where the story has dominated the media, competitors are eager to scoop each other, with high-profile stories ranging from the highly controversial publication of Mills McCartney's official legal filing with the High Court to ruminations about the monetary settlement offered by the former Beatle.

The couple met in 1999 through Mills McCartney's charity work, which she took on in earnest after she lost a leg in a motorbike accident in 1993. They married in 2002.

After much speculation in the media earlier in 2006, the couple announced their separation in May. McCartney filed for divorce in July, citing "unreasonable behaviour." They have one child, Beatrice, age two.

In June, Mills McCartney vowed to legal action against media outlets "intent on damaging her reputation."