Solicitor, 63, is accused of stalking authorized blogger and making undesirable sexual advances – after coming below separate probe over shopping for up a whole lot of freeholds
A solicitor who bought up hundreds of freeholds on leasehold properties and was reported to police for sending scaremongering and aggressive letters to buy the freeholds back is now accused of stalking a legal blogger and making unwanted sexual advances to him.
Andrew Milne, 63, is said to have sent the writer numerous unwanted sexualised messages including one which read: ‘If you agree to be my total sex slave I will let you live in the garage.’
Lawyer Milne, who was already under professional investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has now appeared in a criminal case being heard at Stratford Magistrates Court in east London.
The court heard that Milne had stalked Daniel Cloake, the author of a legal blog called Mouseinthecourt.co.uk, between March and August 2024.
Mr Cloake, 36, said the pair had first met when he covered a court case Milne was involved in and after two lunches at the Law Society, the unwanted contact began.
Mr Cloake told District Judge Towell at the court: ‘This is someone who has a very strange relationship with the truth and was a person not to be trusted.’
The unwanted attention was said to have included emails, letters, voice messages and the bizarre handwritten ‘sex slave’ note.
Andrew Milne (pictured), 63, is said to have sent the writer numerous unwanted sexualised messages. The court heard that Milne had stalked Daniel Cloake
The unwanted attention was said to have included emails, letters, voice messages and the bizarre handwritten ‘sex slave’ note (pictured)
Prosecutor Reem Khatib read out a series of emails, several of which asked Mr Cloake for a date and claimed he had an interest in older men, which Mr Cloake denied ever expressing.
Asked how one email made him feel, Mr Cloake said: ‘It is just a bit creepy really. As far as I am aware, I never gave him any indication that I was interested.’
Mr Cloake eventually contacted police after receiving an email suggesting Milne might ‘pop’ over to his home the following day, adding: ‘Perhaps we can suspend hostilities after lunch while I examine your Mouse Hole properly – it was ALWAYS going to happen one day LOL LOL LOL. I am very excited LOL LOL LOL.’
In the same email, Milne threatened Mr Cloake with ‘substantial damages’ mentioning the sum of £100,000 to £200,000.’
Mr Cloake told the court he left for work early to ensure he missed Milne, but on his return discovered a handwritten note in his letter-box in capital letters stating: ‘Where are you? LOL LOL LOL. Are you suddenly very shy? I am amazed there is actually a property which can be seized. After you are bankrupt, if you agree to be my total [underlined] sex slave I will let you live in the garage.’
Mr Cloake told the court he found the note ‘incredibly scary,’ adding ‘I perceived this to be him coming to my house to blackmail me to have sex and if I didn’t he would launch legal proceedings… I genuinely thought he was coming to my house to rape me.’
The trial is still ongoing and has been adjourned until February 2, reported Private Eye.
Milne, 63, is no stranger to the courts, having been accused of ‘bullying, threatening and harassing’ by an MP in the Commons
Milne, 63, is no stranger to the courts, having been accused of ‘bullying, threatening and harassing’ by an MP in the Commons for his practice of buying the freeholds of more than 200 properties then using legal threats to make leaseholders buy them back at inflated prices.
A judge had said: ‘I do not consider him to be an honest or credible man’ and accused him of ‘intimidatory and threatening language’.
Among those watching the proceedings was Bolton councillor David Grant, who told the Daily Mail that Milne had ‘plagued a number of elderly residents, playing on their vulnerabilities. I have reported him to the SRA and I believe they are currently interviewing witnesses.
‘He buys up property freeholds at auctions and then embarks on a process of trying to extort residents. He looks for any alterations to the property and then he tells the leaseholder they are technically in breach of a covenant, so he’s intending to forfeit their property.
‘However, he asks them if they would like to purchase the freehold element from him for £25-30k, when they are worth a few hundred, I won’t take you to court. Then he just tries to wear you and your own solicitor down by bombarding them with 20-page documents, which obviously send your own costs rocketing.’
Earlier this month, Bolton West MP Phil Brickell told the Commons: ‘For years, solicitor Andrew Milne has been bullying, threatening and harassing leaseholders, including my Horwich constituents, into buying freeholds off him at massively inflated prices – sometimes as much as £25,000 – yet the Solicitors Regulation Authority has done nothing to stop his outrageous behaviour.’
He said homeowners ‘should not have to live in fear of being ripped off by crooked lawyers and asked the Government to hold a debate on the SRA’s lack of action.
Leader of the House Sir Alan Campbell described the case as ‘concerning’, adding: ‘I am sure the whole House will join me in condemning the behaviour my hon. Friend describes.
The Minister for Courts and Legal Services is writing to [the SRA] to seek an update and assurance about what action is being taken or what action it intends to take.’
Milne was first referred to the SRA in December 2023 after an excoriating judgement from His Honour Judge Keyser KC at Wrexham County Court, who found against him.
The judge said of him: ‘I do not consider him to be an honest or credible man. His counter-notice, which I have discussed at some length, is redolent of bad faith.
‘For his own ends, he is willing to resort to intimidatory and threatening language, advancing allegations that he cannot possibly believe to be justified.’
Later he added: ‘ I shall refer this judgment… to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for consideration and, if appropriate, investigation.’
Mr Milne was contacted by the Daily Mail.
