Stalker solicitor called court blogger his ‘sex slave’ and turned up at his home

A solicitor told a courts blogger he wanted him to be his ‘sex slave’ during an intense stalking campaign.

Andrew Milne was convicted of stalking Daniel Cloake between March and August 2024, having sent him 120 emails, an unwanted gift, and letters.

Mr Cloake runs a court reporting website called Mouse in Court which states he is a ‘blogger and news gatherer with a keen interest in law and open justice’.

The pair originally met after Mr Cloake approached Milne at a hearing, Thames Magistrates’ Court heard today.

Milne displayed ‘fixated and obsessive behaviour’ towards Mr Cloake which culminated in him turning up at his London home where he left a handwritten letter.

District Judge Lisa Towell told Milne that as a solicitor, he had a duty to be ‘professional’ in his dealings with Mr Cloake.

She added: ‘You made comments about him becoming your sex slave and hoping not to find a dead rodent, those are just examples – there were more.

‘He was genuinely fearful of you. I have no doubt that your contact has had an ongoing impact on him.’

The judge said Milne had shown ‘no remorse whatsoever’, adding: ‘You have shown no empathy or insight into how you made Mr Cloake feel.’

In a victim impact statement, read on Mr Cloake’s behalf by prosecutor Reem Khatib, the blogger said Milne’s messages included ‘homophobic and transphobic’ content and the defendant said he would visit Mr Cloake’s house and ‘examine my mousehole’.

Ms Khatib said this comment ‘could be seen as threatening’ and there was an email ‘which the crown say appears to be a veiled death threat’.

In the statement, Mr Cloake said it was ‘disconcerting’ to know Milne was sat at home writing long emails to him and ‘monitoring’ tweets he had posted.

‘I continue to fear that he will contact my family, send me aggressive notes or come to my house,’ he added.

Mitigating, Nathan Goldstein said Milne would be ‘seriously affected by these matters’, adding: ‘It goes without saying that this is going to form a very significant punishment in its own right.’

Milne’s probation officer said there was a ‘low risk of reoffending’, Mr Goldstein said.

The judge sentenced Milne to a 24-month community order and ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity days.

He must also pay Mr Cloake £850 in compensation as well as £650 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

The judge also imposed a seven-year restraining order meaning Milne must not contact Mr Cloake directly or indirectly or attend Mr Cloake’s address or anywhere he may be residing.

Mr Goldstein told the court Milne intends to appeal.

Last month, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) sanctioned Milne following the conviction and said he may not act as a solicitor without the supervision of an approved person.

Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, previously called for the SRA to suspend Milne after his conviction, saying she had written to the regulator to ‘seek the immediate removal of his licence to practise’.

The SRA have been contacted for comment.

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