Rat's Milk Fights Global Warming

London,
Monday 19.11.07

Vegan Heather Mills's latest bizarre outburst: 'Why don't we drink rat's milk?'

19.11.07

It has been a hotspot for tub-thumpers and eccentrics alike for more than a century.

So it was perhaps fitting that Heather Mills - fresh from her TV tirades complaining about her treatment - should choose Speakers' Corner to launch her latest onslaught.

But as the former model got on the popular London soapbox yesterday for a global awareness campaign, there was speculation her real target may have been her estranged husband Sir Paul McCartney.

For while the 39-year-old was there to unveil billboards for animal welfare charity Viva! the giant posters were draped in an ad for the National Domestic Violence helpline.

The cover - which bore the logo: "Well, he said he was sorry" and was whipped off as she made her entrance - echoed Miss Mills' previous allegations of being assaulted by the former Beatle during their marriage. Last year she also hinted she was applying for an occupation order, commonly used in domestic violence cases to decide who keeps the family home.

Officials from the charity insisted it was a "coincidence" Miss Mills' posters were covered with the ad.

A spokeswoman said: "The domestic violence posters were for an old campaign that is nothing to do with us."

The Viva! campaign, which will involve 100 billboards going up around the country, feature Miss Mills in two controversial poses.

In one, she appears to be announcing her newly-single status with the caption: "Hey Meaty, you're making me so hot!" as she writhes in a gold sequined dress. The poster aims to highlight how the meat and dairy industry is contributing to the greenhouse effect.

In the second billboard the campaigner - whose leg was amputated after a motorbike accident - sends herself up with the logo: "You haven't got a leg to stand on!" aimed at meat eaters for playing a part in global warming.

But Miss Mills triggered accusations of hypocrisy after she arrived at the launch in a gas-guzzling Mercedes 4x4 and kept the engine running for part of the morning.

She said: "The startling truth is that animals farmed for met and dairy are now one of the greatest threats to the planet.

"The United Nations last year issued a shocking report on the environmental damage being done by livestock.

"I became a vegetarian for health reasons. Then I found out about the awful animal abuse in factory farms and dairy herds and became vegan.

"The easiest and most effective way of cutting our contribution is to change our diet and go vegan. It is that simple.

"We are the only species that drinks another creature's milk so why aren't we drinking rats' milk, dogs' milk or cats' milk? That is how crazy it is."

Viva! director Juliet Gellatley said: "Heather was not the slightest bit precious about her disability and loved the idea of mocking all those who have called her a fantasist.

"Meat and dairy animals are literally destroying the Earth and are the second biggest cause of greenhouse gases at 18 per cent compared to 13.5 per cent from all the world's different modes of transport combined."

Earlier Miss Mills caused a stir with a rant on a radio chat show in which she snapped at the interviewer then stormed out halfway through.

During a 10-minute interview by Nick Ferrari on LBC radio, she complained she was being treated like a "murderer or a paedophile" before cutting him short after six minutes and walking out saying: "Let's forget it. He is just a waste of time."

The radio chat got off to a bad start when Ferrari asked her about her recent slew of TV and magazine interviews, to which Miss Mills retorted: "Shall I fall asleep now or do you want to get on with talking about global warming?" before making snoring noises.

She went on: "You don't know me as a person. To have an opinion about somebody you've never met before is pretty superficial."

When Ferrari responded, "I can have an opinion on murderers, on corrupt politicians. I don't have to meet them all", she hit back: "I am not a murderer or a paedophile. I am a charity campaigner.

"To put me in the same bracket as those is exactly why I've been treated like one."

After several more clashes Miss Mills said: "Just cut him off," and walked out.

She has previously told how her marriage breakdown drove her to the brink of suicide and is currently wrangling with Sir Paul, 65, for a slice of his £825million fortune.