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Heather Mills: Vegan campaigning made holidaymakers shun my daughter
Last updated at 09:10am on 30.07.09Heather Mills has revealed how holidaymakers turned against her and her five-year-old daughter after becoming irritated by their veganism campaigning.
New partner: Heather Mills with snooker player Jamie Walker in Hove
The former model, who is trying to launch an international chain of “meatless meat” cafés, told how fellow guests on a recent break in the south of France refused to sit with her and Beatrice, her daughter with Sir Paul McCartney.
Ms Mills, 41, said: “Beatrice questions everybody who eats animals. When we were in the south of France, there was a buffet for kids, and by the end of the week no one would sit near us because she would go over and say Why are you eating that cow's bottom?' or Oh, look at that little shrimp with little eyes'.”
Ms Mills recently opened vegan VBites café in Hove, East Sussex, selling “streaky bacon” made out of soya dyed pink and fish-free “fish fingers”.
Ms Mills describes her life since her £24 million divorce settlement from Sir Paul in an exclusive interview with ES magazine, out tomorrow.
She also claims alleged death threats against her, which she talked about in a GMT interview in 2007, were part of an elaborate hoax to make her lose custody of Beatrice.
And she says her new partner, snooker player Jamie Walker, 36, is “exactly what I need, a man without ego”.
Full story: the exclusive interview with Heather Mills is in tomorrow's
ES magazine, free with the Standard
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Reader views (31)
How would tramp mills feel if people went up to her and asked why she was walking funny....complete idiot and i really feel sorry for her daughter....
you are teaching your daughter that different people are not OK so when she is older and laughs at you coz the way you are dont be surprised.
Complete idiot.....
- Nicole, Scotland
What kind of parent allows their child to approach another person and question what they eat? It is rude. But, Miss Mills herself is a rude and obnoxious person. She does not conduct herself like a lady. How can one expect her daughter behave any different? And yes, soya product disguised as meat seems wrong when there are so many other lovely ways to introduce plant based protein into one's diet.
- Sissy, Long Island NY, USA
Poor little brat, having a mother like that.
- Frank, Saarbruecken, Germany
The picture is not Jamie Walker - it is her "personal trainer" Ben Amigoni. She picked up the poolboy, now snooker player (?) while on vacation. Nice for him to find a sugar momma so he can pretend to be a snooker player at 36. Of course he wouldn't argue with her - she is paying his way.
She is doing her daughter no favors at all. Acutally teaching her to do that is bordering on child abuse. Why is all her food 'fake' meat? I would think that would be digusting to vegans or vegetarians. Why would a meat eater eat fake meat? Why not the real thing. What do they do to it to make it taste like meat. That is just disgusting.
- Marie, USA
Barry1858, Welwyn, "The self-sufficiency of the ignorant rides again!" Your ignorance certainly rides on here. Many people have brought up children very healthily on vegetarian diets. A famous example is Martin Shaw who is a vegan and has healthy grown-up children.
Red meat and milk contribute to many of the degenerative diseases that humans suffer, apart from causing the horrific cruelty that occurs in animal farming, especially factory farming. Get some facts from Viva or Hillside Animal Sanctuary or the Vegetarian Society about food and health, and animal cruelty.
I don't see a great advert for meat in the Macdonald's generation, with the fat, unhealthy diets. Would you prosecute their parents for neglect as well?
- Albert, Derbyshire, UK
And she says her new partner, snooker player Jamie Walker, 36, is “exactly what I need, a man without ego”.
He may simply be someone who doesn't impose himself on women - eg a nice guy. Saying a professional sportsman doesn't have an ego? Unlikely. They have to believe in themselves to be successful.
Unfortunately, this woman has a habit of letting HER ego ride roughshod over others, so she would be incapable of recognizing gentlemanly behaviour if it came up and (figturatively) slapped her in the face. Self-centred as she is, she wouldn't see it as reaction, but as an unprovoked attack.
People don't like her? That could be because she unlikeable for the most part. Remember, McCartney thought he saw something worthy in her. He learned. This guy probably will too.
- Rogan, Irving
Linda, SanFrancisco, US - yep, spoken like a true believer. Trouble is, others are NOT. They don't like being preached to by a little girl who has been taught one perspective of a very contentious issue. The girl, in effect, has been made into a weapon by her partisan mother at a time in her life that the girl's mother can do or say no wrong in the child's life.
Saying that she is only speaking the truth is utterly nonsensical. She is parrotting what her mother TOLD her is the truth, using a child's emotive non-arguments to justify a proven false biological contention.
- Rogan, Irving
why does everyone believe everything they hear in the press? The press are just waiting for something to happen with Heather all the time. please just leave her alone.
- Sue, leicester
By all means be vegetarian or vegan but respect other people's right not to share your predilections. She's obviously bringing her child up to be as self-centred and indifferent to the feelings of others as she herself is - good job!!
- Ljw, london
Sometimes the truth hurts, and people would rather shy away from it, and not associate with people who speak the truth. I applaud the little girl for being able to speak out and risk being ostrisized, she will grow up to be a defender of the innocent. That is not a bad thing at all.
- Linda, SanFrancisco, US
Teach your child some manners. Seems this child is turning into a little ranter just like Mom. One thing that was always said about all the Macca kids. They were polite and had great manners.
- Susan, New York, USA
Does this woman EVER shut up? I really do feel sorry for Beatrice; she is a very small child who is espousing what she probably hears non-stop from her mother, who most likely enthusiastically encourages this behavior. I doubt that Heather Mills has the common sense to see her five year old daughter's "pontificating" for what it really is - a lack of manners. I wonder if Sir Paul would encourage such behavior?
- Barbara, new england usa
How sad for this little girl. I'd say that before one learns compassion for animals they need to be taught compassion for people. All she is being taught is anger. This was seen in a video with her mom at an airport and now chastising young patrons of a restaurant? People learn by example, not by having one's opinions shoved down their throats. Heather needs to step back and reevaluate her methods with dealing with everyone. In spite of her lofty opinions of herself she isn't always right. Not only that, but soya dyed pink is good for you? Why is she trying to make 'meat' like products too. Fake fur is not a good choice. Why can't she just accept making meals with natural vegetables rather than trying to fake people into thinking they are eating meat. I can only imagine the chemicals involved in that process.
- Janet, Cheshire, usa
if nobody ate meat what are we going to do with the pigs sheep cattle?
- Steve Phillips, zaandam holland
If she has that child on a vegan diet she should be prosecuted for neglect and maybe actual bodily harm. We are omnivores, and it is particularly important that children have a good, balanced diet, including red meat and fish and full fat milk to facilitate normal growth and development. If adults choose to go against their nature in the diet they choose, then I couldn't care less, but idiots should not be allowed to harm their children with fundamentally inadequate diets. The self-sufficiency of the ignorant rides again!
- Barry1858, Welwyn
GOOD! I'M GLAD!
- Nowan King, London
i would quite calmly agree with the little girl about eating Shrimp and ask the waiter to take it back and order a nice Veal - medium rare please.................
- Jonny, London
Has anyone checked to see if Jamie Walker has a pulse?
- Chuck Unsworth, London
If you are vegan why make products that look like meat???
- Angie, Stratford upon Avon
This woman makes my blood boil, who does she think she is. Does she think she has the right to tell people not to eat meat. she probably told her daughter to go up and tell people, because the woman is a nutcase and she only married Paul McCartney to get some publicity for herself. I can't stand her.
- Jackie, malaga spain
she just loves to be the victm!!
- Alestare, London
While in no way defending the brattish behaviour of a 5 year old, I will stick up for Jamie Walker.
He's a very nice lad, he does have a brain, he's working hard on his snooker career and his choice of girlfriend is no reason to assume he's clueless.
- Frank Bradley, London, England
How rude to question other peoples habits ( and on holiday!). The poor child needs a crash course in manners, otherwise I foresee a very difficult time in school this September....
- Juma, london, uk
I'm vegetarian and I'm shocked at a 5 year old doing that, I would never dream of imposing my views about meat on someone like that.
- Cat, Essex
Useless trying to teach the French anything about the welfare of animals. It took me months to get a French yogurt firm to change the labelling of one of their flavours that was coloured with crushed insects. The yogurt, red coloured, now says Not Suitable For Vegetarians. Essentially in terms of food labelling we are well ahead of the rest of Europe.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, Surrey
The arrogance of this woman never ceases to amaze me; has she considered that using her daughter to impose her views on others is wrong? I guess basic manners are also discounted if you're a militant vegan.
I guess free choice is only allowed if you've trousered tens of millions in a divorce settlement
Why should other people's holidays be spoilt by her antics? No wonder other people shun her.
Fantasist, fantasist,fantasist.
- Andrea, Amersham
How rude of her to allow her daughter (especially a 5 year old) to go up to other people whislt eating their meals to question them on what they are eating. What kind of example is she setting to think its OK to let a child do this.
- Julie, Essex
I wonder whether it has occurred to her to bother to teach her darling child that saying things like that to complete strangers is unacceptable and that she might be unintentionally offending the other guests? I feel sorry for this girl because she'll grow up to be a complete brat if she's not reigned in now and I'm sure her father wouldn't put up with that sort of behaviour.
- Isabel, Woking
"And she says her new partner, snooker player Jamie Walker, 36, is “exactly what I need, a man without ego”.
Or any discernable brain activity.
- Michael, London
And too right they were to 'shun' you. It wasn't so much the campaigning, I would imagine, as the lack of manners shown by your child, and yourself in not telling her after the first time that it is impolite, if not downright rude to impose your beliefs on others who may not share the same view. Even as someone who is a rare meat eater, I find this just plain bad manners to say the least.
- 888, London
She doesnt help herself one bit does she? everything she says makes he look worse and worse. She's basically taught her daughter to question other people's lifestyle choice when she should be advocating the right to accept others for who they are. What does she expect other holiday makers to do if her daughter is going around accusing them of murdering animals.
everyone has a choice as we live in the free world and we should be thankful for that.
- Alanac, London
