Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney has threatened a former friend of his late wife Linda McCartney with legal action if he makes public audio diaries that Linda recorded during the later years of her marriage to Paul McCartney.

Peter Cox met Linda while she was planning her 1989 book ‘Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking’ and Cox claims to have spent “hours and hours” in the McCartney’s kitchen with Linda talking freely about her family life.

When they were not together in person, Cox claims Linda recorded audio tapes of recipes and ideas, and later insights into her marriage to Paul.

An inside source told the Mirror the tapes are “dynamite. Linda begins to unburden her troubles and the tapes become an audio diary.”

“It’s a private and emotional confessional. She vents feelings which she’d not dared share with even her closest loved ones. She found the tapes cathartic.”

Paul’s management company MPLCommunications have threatened to take Cox to the High Court if he did not agree in writing to keep the tapes private. The source added: “Mr Cox has been silenced and the tapes remain a secret… for now.”

However, a source close to Heather Mills has claimed the tapes could be used to back up abuse claims she has made: “these tapes may well be crucial in any divorce proceedings. At the moment there’s a lot of claim and counter claim.”

Cox is also reportedly willing to testify against Paul if subpoenaed by Heather during the divorce case. The inside source added: “Peter never got on with Paul. They rubbed each other up the wrong way. There was no love lost between them.”

“Even after Linda’s death, there was no thawing of relations. Peter was rankled he wasn’t invited to Linda’s funeral. He’s never forgiven Paul for that.”