Sir Peregrine declares war over Earl's £12m estate: Former newspaper editor calls his brother-in-law 'cruel and selfish' for not sharing inheritance with his sisters Sir Peregrine claims he is 'bitterly disappointed' by Ned Lambton's actions He said three of the sisters have 'no money at all' while he spends a fortune By Charlotte Griffiths Sir Peregrine Worsthorne has branded the brother of his wife Lucinda Lambton' 'cruel and selfish' for refusing to give her a share of their late father's £12 million estate. The Earl of Durham followed ancient tradition by leaving his entire fortune to his only son, Ned, when he died in 2006 - while his five daughters got next to nothing. Now former Sunday Telegraph editor Sir Peregrine has entered into a war of words to protect his broadcaster wife Lucinda, 71. 'Bitterly disappointed': Sir Peregrine Worthstone has called his brother-in-law 'cruel and selfish' He said: 'Having backed the hereditary aristocracy all my writing life as a journalist, I feel bitterly disappointed by my brother-in-law's cruel and selfish behaviour towards his sisters. Three of them have no money at all and he is spending fortunes. Family ties: Sir Peregrine's wife Lady Lucinda Lambton Ned has five sisters, and three of them - including Lucinda - are suing him for their share of the £12 million fortune. Sir Peregrine added: 'He inherited the estate but the normal thing is to share out some of the booty, so to speak, with your siblings.' The legal battle has been taken to Italy where the Earl died at the age of 84 in his 400-year-old baroque pile, Villa Cetinale. Sir Peregrine, 89, added: 'The whole thing rests on the fact that my father-in-law died in Italian domicile - which means that, by Italian law, everything should be divided between his children. The sisters took it for granted that they would get their share. And Ned always said he would do something about it but never did. There is nothing to explain his behaviour. Ned, 51, now the seventh Earl of Durham, is a one-time rock guitarist who has been married three times. Sir Peregrine left the Sunday Telegraph in 1997, having been appointed as the newspaper's first deputy editor in 1961. Feud: Ned Lambton pictured with wife Marina Hanbury at their wedding in Chelsea