McCartney cites "unreasonable behaviour" in divorce papers

Former Beatle Paul McCartney has filed for divorce from Heather Mills, and has hired the lawyer who managed Prince Charles's divorce from Diana, according to British newspapers.

The 64-year-old ex-Beatle formally filed his divorce papers this week, boththe Sun and the Daily Mirror said. They said he cited Mills's "unreasonable behaviour" for the split.

The revelations have spurred Mills, 38, to launch a counter-attack through her spokesman, Phil Hall, who says the former model will be filing "her own counter-claims about matters bothin this country and America.

"She is hugely disappointed that matters of such a confidential nature should be aired in public and feels it is inappropriate to speak about such delicate matters when a child is involved," said Hall in a statement.

The McCartneys, who weremarried in June 2002, have a two-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

Hires high-profile lawyer

The newspapers say McCartney has hired lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who represented Prince Charles in his divorce from the Princess of Wales.

McCartney met Mills at a charity event in 1999, a year after his first wife, Linda McCartney, died of breast cancer.

Linda and Paul McCartney were married for 30 years and had three children. McCartney is also father to Linda'sdaughterfrom a previous relationship.

Mills has been under increasing scrutiny by the British tabloids since the couple announced their separation in May.Allegations about her past have prompted her to launch lawsuits against one paper.

The pair made a public protest against the Canadian seal huntbefore their split. A media blitz followed them as they observed seal pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in March and sparred with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams on CNN's Larry King Live.

McCartney has used his website to defend his wife, saying that there's not "an ounce of truth" in the stories being published about her.

The couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement, and divorce experts believe the singer/songwriter could lose about a quarter of his estimated fortune of 825 million pounds ($1.7 billion Cdn).