Paul McCartney is said to have offered estranged wife Heather Mills a final deal of £23million after she ordered him to settle before Friday or face court.

Heather is said to have set the deadline earlier in the week after growing tired of the endless negotiations over the financial settlement for their divorce but according to the News of the World, Paul was furious about the threat and even though he is said to hate the idea of taking the case to a public trial in the High Court, called her bluff.

A source told the newspaper: “This is a FINAL offer. Paul’s sick of her. He’s adamant that he’s not offering her any more deals and has sworn that after this there will be no more bargaining.”

“It’s brinkmanship of the highest order. Paul feels he has made an incredibly generous offer and for that amount of money he is entitled to think Heather would keep aspects of their time together private.”

“He had hoped they would agree a settlement this week. He is weary of the negotiations and wants to move on for the sake of their daughter, Beatrice. The longer it drags on, the more frustrated he becomes.”

“And Heather should know that he won’t be bullied into making a ludicrously high offer. That £23 million won’t stay on the table for long. He hopes that by reducing the offer like this it will force her hand and flush her out. The ball is in her court now. She should sign before it’s too late.”

Earlier in the month, the pair and their legal teams sat down for an eight-hour long meeting to attempt to settle the issue but Heather refused to sign a reported £50million agreement because she resented a gagging order clause.

A second source added that Heather is “in talks with the network about a potential series on her life with Paul.”

“There’s also talk that she’s provisionally been booked to go on Oprah to discuss it all, and following on from that could even be offered her own talk show. Plus she’s right on the verge of signing a huge publishing deal to write a book and tell the lot.

“All these projects would net Heather millions but signing a gagging clause will scupper all of that. So she’s weighing up her options very carefully and won’t be rushed into anything.”