Turned up at his house
A solicitor convicted of stalking a legal blogger by bombarding him with emails and voicemails, and even turning up at his home, has lost his appeal against conviction.
Legal Cheek previously reported that Andrew Jonathan Milne was found guilty of stalking without fear, with the court concluding that his conduct towards Daniel Cloake, the legal blogger behind Mouse in the Court who reports on court proceedings, amounted to harassment.
The court heard that between March and August 2024, Milne, 63, sent Cloake over 120 communications, including emails containing what the judge described as “aggressive threats of litigation and uninvited sexual innuendo”. He also left two voicemails on Cloake’s birthday, sent him a book as a gift and was caught on doorbell camera footage outside the blogger’s home.
The Law Society Gazette reports this week that Milne has lost his appeal against conviction, with Judge Timothy Greene and two magistrates finding that Milne “knew full well that his course of conduct amounted to harassment”.
Milne — who is currently subject to practise conditions imposed by the SRA amid ongoing disciplinary proceedings — unsuccessfully argued that Cloake would have contacted the police sooner if he had genuinely felt harassed. However, the court noted that while the blogger only contacted the police after Milne turned up at his home, he had previously raised complaints with the regulator.
Milne also claimed to have been in a sexual relationship with Cloke which the judge found to be a lie and “completely incapable of belief”.
The solicitor was previously sentenced to a 24-month community order requiring 300 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation. He was also handed a seven-year restraining order barring him from contacting Cloake directly or indirectly, or attending his home or any other address where he may be living.
