29 APRIL 2003
Sir Paul McCartney, the wealthiest musician in Britain, has spoken out to explain why his daughter thinks he's stingy.

Fashion designer Stella recently gave an interview in which she spoke of her embarrassment at being sent to a normal school. "I didn't really go around thinking 'what great benefits there are for me in going to a comprehensive",·she admitted. The 31-year-old also said that being the richest kid in the playground was difficult and referred to her father as "tight".

Sir Paul insists that he didn't want her to be spoiled, however. "Apparently she was talking about me sending them to a council school instead of a posh one," he said. "But it wasn't my decision. It was a mum and dad decision and Stella hasn't done badly by it. I'm really not that tight."

"I remember on her 18th birthday she wanted a car so I said I'd look at a second-hand one," revealed the former Beatle, who is worth £760 million. "Ringo had a right go at me. He said: 'Buy her a Porsche, Go on – buy her one', but I said 'no' because how many other kids have a Porsche?"

"The truth of it is, I didn't want to spoil my kids because if you've got money, you end up with spoilt brats running around."