McCartneys call truce

Evidence at last that Stella McCartney and Heather Mills have buried the hatchet - Lady McCartney has posed proudly in one of her stepdaughter's designer creations on the eve of Stella's wedding.

The image is one we thought we would never see after Heather reportedly angered Stella by wearing another designer's dress for her own wedding to 60-year-old Sir Paul McCartney in Ireland last summer.

Since she began dating the former Beatle after the death of his first wife Linda, ex- model Heather, 34, has always denied a rift between herself and the couple's children - James, Stella and Mary, and Linda's daughter from her first marriage, also named Heather. Now, with Stella's wedding to publisher Alasdhair Willis expected any day, we see the most public evidence yet that any rift has healed.

The pose is part of a feature to celebrate Red magazine's fifth birthday. Asked how her life has altered over the past five years, Heather says: "On one hand I'm very happy and madly in love, but when I met Paul I was told to make no comment. The press thought I was sticking my nose up at them, so they got the knives out. Half of the media are out to destroy everything as if I'm a criminal.

"A lot gets written about me that isn't true: that Stella left the wedding early when she was one of the last to leave; that I was going to write a vegetarian cookery book, when I'm not. There was a proposal to do a veggie cookery series on TV, but it wasn't appropriate so I offered it to Mary because it was her mum who was into that."

She reveals how down-to-earth the family is. "There's nothing celebrity about Paul's family. They don't live in a grand house with lots of staff, it's a very normal life - cooking dinner and washing up." And she talks about her hopes of having children with Sir Paul. "If it happens that would be great, but if it doesn't, it doesn't.

"I had two ectopic pregnancies in my twenties so my tubes are pretty damaged, and I've had so many operations that I wouldn't want IVF or anything - sometimes things like that can ruin a relationship. Having nearly lost my life nine years ago (in the motorcycle accident in which she lost a lower leg) I tend to live in the here and now."

Encouraging readers to try to win the dress she is wearing, Heather adds: "It's a gorgeous dress and Stella designed it, and it will also raise money for some great causes. Fifty per cent of the proceeds will go to The Linda McCartney Centre for Cancer Care and the other 50 per cent to Adopt-A-Minefield which saves lives by raising funds for mine clearance and helps landmine survivors worldwide."

The full feature appears in the February issue of Red magazine, out now.