Royal butler sells his story for £400,000

Paul Burrell sold his story for £400,000 yesterday after a fierce contest in which bids were reported to have reached £1m.

The former butler to Diana, Princess of Wales, said he was not interested in "just making the most amount of money" from his ordeal. In the end he opted for the Daily Mirror's bid, which won exclusive world rights to his "thoughts and recollections".

Piers Morgan, theMirror's editor, said his paper had fended off more than 400 other media bids. The deal will probably be restricted to what MrBurrell feels about thecollapsed trial. "His private thoughts on this very public trial and on just why Diana trusted him so completely make this an utterlycompelling story," MrMorgan said.

The ITV programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald secured aninterview with Mr Burrell in a deal believed to be worth £100,000. A spokesman for Granada confirmed yesterday that the former butler had agreed to be interviewed by Mr McDonald for asix-figure sum since Mr Burrell's acquittal on theft charges last Friday.

Mr Burrell, speaking on London radio station LBC, said: "I want to come out and tell you what'shappened to me. I do have a great story to tell."