Asolicitor convicted of stalking a legal blogger was today sentenced to a two-year community order – and ordered not to contact a ‘hobby journalist’ for seven years.
Andrew Jonathan Milne, 63, admitted in 1986, was convicted of stalking without fear in February after a seven-day trial at Stratford magistrates’ court.
Milne’s conduct towards court blogger Daniel Cloake in 2024 was said to amount to harassment after he sent 124 emails to Cloake, left him two voicemails on his birthday, sent him a book and was seen ‘loitering outside’ Cloake’s home following two lunches at the Law Society.
The solicitor, who had his practising certificate restricted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority last month, spoke only to give his name and date of birth before his sentencing and to confirm he understood his sentence afterwards.
A victim impact statement from Cloake was read out in court by Reem Khatib, prosecuting. Cloake described Milne’s emails as a ‘weird mix of delusional messages of being in a relationship’ and ‘aggressive’ litigation threats, adding: ‘This was scary and showed a lack of respect for normal boundaries.’
Cloake said Milne had ‘caused stress and distraction whilst he was at work’ adding that he took an email sent by Milne, in which he said he was going to visit Cloake’s home ‘completely uninvited’ which included an ‘offer of settlement for an unparticularised legal claim’, as a ‘sex threat and akin to blackmail’.
‘I was scared he was coming to my house to force me to have sex with him,’ Cloake said.
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/stalker-solicitor-given-two-year-community-order/5126150.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Stalking+solicitor+sentenced+%7c+Solicitors+take+jury+fight+to+parliament+%7c+CPS+instructions+%27lack+key+detail%27_03%2f10%2f2026
