Embattled Mills McCartney Fights Prostitution Rumors

Money can't buy love... or can it? The New York Daily News reports that Heather Mills McCartney is firing back at British reports that she was once a high-priced call girl who took part in orgies with rich Arabs.

Sir Paul's estranged wife has been dragged through the mud in recent days, with London's News of the World reporting that the when the would-be Mrs. McCartney was in her 20s, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi paid her more than $11,000 to have sex. The paper also says that a Saudi prince shelled out $9,000 for a threesome with Mills and another woman.

A former hooker, identified as Denise Hewitt, claims to have performed a lesbian sex act with Heather. Their former escort, Petrina Montrose, was allegedly the one who arranged the liaison between Hewitt, Mills and the prince at London's Dorchester Hotel.

Lawyers for Mills McCartney, 38, strongly deny the allegations, calling the sources "unreliable persons who have been paid for these stories," while noting that the former model refuted these same stories when they surfaced four years ago.

But Abdul Khoury, identified as Khashoggi's former secretary, says otherwise, contending that he knows from experience.

"She has repeatedly lied. She was a hooker. I know. I paid her," he said.

The current prostitution claim comes just days after British papers carried saucy pictures of Heather from a German book, "Die Freuden Der Liebe," or "The Joys of Love." Heather and her defenders insist the book was made for educational purposes, as a guide to lovemaking.

In defense of Mills, the Independent asserts "a deliberately orchestrated attempt to discredit the former model, who has always had a difficult relationship with the press."

Friends of Paul insist he has had nothing to do with the smear campaign, which began just as their intention of separating became public.

"Paul told everyone he wanted the divorce handled with integrity," a pal said. "He doesn't want [2-year-old daughter] Beatrice, reading anything like this when she grows up."

The British press were often hard on the legendary Beatle's late wife, Linda, who now seems saintly by comparison. The resentment of Mills may be amplified by the fact that she stands to receive half of McCartney's purported billion-dollar fortune, as they have no pre-nup.

"There's a tremendous affection for Paul," says one member of the British media. "It's brutal being married to a Beatle. Heather had a bull's-eye on her from day one. I've never seen anything like this. The press may have known a lot of this all along but held back out of respect for Paul."

Mills McCartney said Tuesday that after her divorce is final, she plans to sue papers that have been digging into her past. The couple announced its separation May 17.