Libel damages for Paul McCartney's wife

Heather Mills has accepted £50,000 (€78,000) libel damages over a newspaper article.

The Sunday Mirror wrongly suspected her of dishonesty over cash collected for an earthquake appeal.

The former model is in the USA with husband Sir Paul McCartney, and was not at the High Court in London to hear the reading of an agreed statement before Mr Justice Gray.

Her counsel, Thomas Shields QC, said the "highly damaging and wounding" allegations, in the newspaper in May, were "wholly without foundation".

Publicist Anya Noakes said later: "Heather Mills is pleased that the Sunday Mirror has recognised the allegations were unfounded and that her reputation has been vindicated."

All the money has been donated to the charity Adopt-A-Minefield (UK). MGN Limited also agreed to pay her legal costs.

Mr Shields told the judge that the McCartneys were returning from a holiday in India in January 2001 when there was an earthquake in Gujarat.

Miss Mills returned to the area to assist the relief workers and arranged with Hello! magazine for a photographer to accompany her.

Mr Shields said the Sunday Mirror article left the reader with the impression there were reasonable grounds to suspect Miss Mills had been guilty of dishonesty or a serious lack of proper accounting in relation to money allegedly raised by her from the public for the earthquake victims - in that only part had ever been distributed.

Mr Shields said the publication of the article, shortly before her marriage, caused Miss Mills considerable distress and embarrassment.