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PAUL AND HEATHER SET OUT ON OFFICIAL ROAD TO DIVORCE

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31 JULY 2006

Paul McCartney has filed for divorce from his estranged wife Heather. Both had insisted the split would be amicable for the sake of their two-year-old daughter Beatrice, but the former Beatle has since hired a heavyweight team of Britain's top divorce lawyers to handle proceedings.



And ten weeks after the couple's separation was announced the millionaire singer has been photographed with his ring finger bare. The outing to his Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts was the first occasion in four years he'd been seen without a wedding band.

According to friends of Sir Paul, his petition to the courts blames the break-up of the four-year marriage on the former model's "unreasonable behaviour".

But Heather's spokesperson rejected claims the pair were at loggerheads. "The divorce is still at its early stages and they haven't got to the money yet. It's not acrimonious. They're talking every day about Bea."

The charity campaigner, who didn't sign a pre-nuptial agreement prior to their wedding, could be in line for a considerable slice of her husband's £825 million fortune. But first Heather's attorneys - who she has yet to name - will have to contend with Fiona Shackleton, the divorce specialist dubbed as the Steel Magnolia for her toughness. The lawyer represented the Prince of Wales when he parted ways with Princess Diana.

Also on the team is Nicholas Mostyn QC and John L Eastman, Paul's longtime lawyer/manager, and the brother of his first wife Linda.