Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney and Heather Mills‘ divorce proceedings have reportedly stalled again after Heather refused to accept the financial settlement offered by Paul’s legal team.

The pair met behind closed doors at a secret hearing at the High Court yesterday, hoping that the matter could be settled which going to a public trial.

An inside source told the Daily Mail that Paul offered Heather a package worth £50million from his rumoured £800million fortune - around £30million in a lump sum with the rest as an annual income for supporting their daughter Beatrice - but the money came with a confidentiality clause, forbidding her from talking to the media about any aspect of the marriage or divorce.

Heather is said to have been willing to trade the confidentiality agreement for as much as £15million off the lump sum but Paul was not interested.

The couple spent eight hours in deadlock yesterday but left without reaching an agreement. The source added: “It is finished. There are no more talks planned. The whole thing broke down without agreement. A trial date has been set for February next year and that is where we are heading.”

Paul had hoped to resolve the disagreement without it going to a public trial in order to keep the details private for the sake of their young daughter.