Heather Mills reportedly phoned Paul McCartney two months ago to demand more money as part of the divorce settlement and threatened to ruin his reputation if he didn’t agree.

In the wake of supposedly leaked legal documents citing abuse being made public, a source claiming to be close to Paul has told the Sun: “The gloves are off. Two months ago, Heather had a furious row with Sir Paul and showed her true colours.”

“Heather felt humiliated and her only response is to fight an underhand battle. She will stop at nothing to get her hands on his fortune.”

“He wanted to settle but she wanted the world and more. She told him unless he offered her a serious amount of cash she would bring him down.”

“Paul took that to mean she would try and ruin his reputation in court. Paul saw it as blackmail.”

Regarding the abuse claims, another source added: “What she has claimed is not only untrue, but cruelly vindictive. It is a cynical and calculated PR move designed to prompt sympathy from the public and a court, which will ultimately decide how many millions of pounds Heather will receive.”

“She may be planning to smugly watch as Paul’s reputation is publicly destroyed. But unfortunately this will backfire. All she has done is expose her passion for plot, scheme and manipulation of the truth. Paul is hurt and very, very angry.”

Heather’s spokesperson Phil Hall has denied any knowledge of the legal papers were leaked or even if they are genuine since “it’s a highly confidential legal matter.”

He told This Morning: “The story, as you say, is very detailed and very full but at the moment it’s a highly confidential matter. I spoke to Heather this morning and she was shocked that it was out there, first and foremost.”

He added that Heather had been ill recently but that she’s is getting better: “In the last five or six months, she has been for a revision amputation operation. She has been very unwell and weak. She lost her voice. In the past three or four weeks she has come through that. She’s looking a lot better and stronger.”