Sir Sean Connery has accused his ex-wife of spreading 'vicious lies' after she claimed he had cut their son out of his will.

The James Bond star is furious that Diane Cilento has dragged son Jason into their increasingly bitter feud.

The Australian actress said Connery was fed up with Jason 'sponging' off of him and cashing in on his name. And she claimed the 77-year-old actor would not hand over a penny of his £85million fortune to his son.

But Sir Sean put Miss Cilento's outburst down to the fact that she had not come to terms with the failure of their marriage almost 40 years ago.

The gloves are off: A public feud is raging between Sir Sean Connery and ex-wife Diane Cilento, whom he branded an 'insane woman'

'I haven't seen the woman in 37 years and she knows nothing about me or my life now,' he said.

'Diane can't move on from the break-up of our marriage and I have already had to contend with her accusations about me being violent towards her.

'Now the lies seem to be getting even more vicious and, what is worse, she is dragging our son into it.'

Actor and director Jason, 45, is Sir Sean's only child.

He has just finished directing his second film, the Untitled Gehenna Project, a horror thriller starring Ray Winstone which is now in pre-production.

Sir Sean said he has a good relationship with his son and added: 'I have just come off the phone to Jason and I know he will be making his own statement. But I never told him I wasn't going to leave him a penny in my will or that I said he only had the career he has as an actor and director because of his name.

Connery denied his ex-wife's claims that he had a 'difficult relationship' with actor son Jason

'He happens to have talent of his own. I saw him in Scotland only last year and we speak constantly on the phone.

'As for being mean to him when he was a lad, I sent him to Millfield, which is Britain's most expensive public school, and I sent him after that to Gordonstoun when it became clear to me that Millfield was rubbish.'

Sir Sean added: 'Long before I divorced Diane, I actually set up a trust fund worth £85,000 for his education and the education of Diane's daughter which of course would be worth a lot more today.

Bitter divorce: Sean Connery and Diane Cilento were married between 1962 and 1973

'I did everything any father could reasonably be expected to do.'

Sir Sean was married to Miss Cilento for 11 years before their bitter divorce in 1973.

He and his French wife Micheline have been together for the past 33 years. They now live in the Bahamas.

Miss Cilento, 74, said last week that Connery was determined that Jason should earn his own living.

She added: 'Sean said "You only got this acting job because your name's Connery".

'Jason said "Well, I'll change it to something else". Sean said "If you do that I'll f****** kill you". Sean has a problem about relationships.'

But Sir Sean said: 'It seems to me a shame that whatever garbage Diane comes out with about me is reported as the gospel truth.

'But of course a lot of people have their own agenda about me because of my support for the SNP.'

Miss Cilento gave an insight into her feelings for Sir Sean when she said in an interview: 'I do feel there's unfinished business between us. I loved the old Sean, I still do.

'Sometimes when I see him today on some talk show, I catch a fleeting glimpse of my old love in the turn of his head or a well-remembered phrase, and it still makes my heart turn over.'

Sir Sean's autobiography, Being A Scot, is set to be published next month. In it, he will outline his rise from Edinburgh milkman to global superstar.