SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY - MCCARTNEY ATTACKS ANTI-VEGGIE RESEARCH

Rock legend SIR PAUL McCARTNEY has lashed out at new research that claims a vegetarian lifestyle is unhealthy for children - claiming figures are fixed by people in the meat trade.

An American study says nutrients found in meat and dairy products help build muscle and enhance intelligence in the first few years of a child's life.

But McCartney - who has been a vegetarian for 20 years and whose late wife Linda launched her own range of meat-free food - so strongly disagrees, he called a BBC radio programme to lodge his complaint.

He told RADIO 2 presenter JEREMY VINE yesterday (21FEB05), "I really do think this is rubbish. I think the medical profession itself - apart from this person, see - come to the conclusion that a veggie diet is good for you and can help with colon cancer and stuff so I suspect these things are engineered by livestock people who have seen sales fall off.

"From my own point of view has been a good thing for me and my children who are no shorter than other children."