Heather Mills blasts Paul McCartnety's lawyer

Heather Mills today launched a scathing attack on Paul McCartney's lawyer, Fiona Shackleton - insisting she "very sadly handled this case".

Shackleton - who due to her charm and resoluteness, together with her blonde looks, has earned the nickname Steel Magnolia amongst her peers - was the same lawyer who represented Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana in 1996. Diana was able to negotiate a $35m settlement.

Speaking outside London's High Court earlier this afternoon, Heather, 40, scathed: "Fiona Shackleton has very sadly handled this case in the worst manner you could ever imagine.

"She has called me many, many names before meeting me when I was in a wheelchair."

The former glamor girl, often referred to as Mucca, also launched an angry outburst against her former husband's victory on where their daughter would live and how much she would get each year.

"Beatrice gets £35,000 ($70k) a year. She is meant to travel B-class when her father travels A-class.

"Paul has always wanted Beatrice to go to a state school. He insisted that he wanted us to move to that area [East Sussex] - £35,000 ($70k) includes. £17,000 ($35k) for school fees."

"He tried to get our daughter with joint residency, even though we had gone 50-50.

"In that way he has got everything he wanted, but that's what powerful people get."

Heather, who is set to get almost $50m from the former Beatle, complained about the judge's assessment of the music legend's wealth - which, for many years, has been estimated at around $1.6bn.

"He also said that Paul is only worth £400 million," she said. "Everyone knows that he has been worth £800 million for the last 15 years.

"Paul has always wanted [the judgment] public because he wants to look like generous Sir Paul.

“I was locked out of every home," she fumed, "I really hope now that me and my daughter can have a life and not be followed every day. Apart from one television thing I have stayed quiet for 21 months.

"If the judgment had been kept private I would not be out here speaking.”

She added: "I can't leave England. Believe me if I tried to go he'd have an injunction on me in a second.”

Describing herself as a "campaigning girl", Heather called on people to represent themselves in court but urged couples to do their best to resolve their problems immediately.

Sir Paul simply said "thank-you" as he left the court this afternoon

Asked if she thought Sir Paul had been "cruel", Mills said: "I can't say that for the sake of my daughter - but my sister does."

She added: "I'm going to go and be with my daughter because I took so much time away from her."

Paying tribute to her sister's support, she added: "Every time I look at her, I want to cry."

Some lawyers had claimed the deal could have been the biggest contested divorce settlement in British legal history with a final payout of around $120million.

Paul and Heather married in 2002 but they split four years later.

They fought a six-day divorce battle last month, with Heather representing herself in court after ditching her entire legal team.

The settlement includes a $16m lump sum, $14m in assets, and is inclusive of $1m referable to her overspending in the period of separation.