SRA: Serious concerns
Controversial solicitor Andrew Milne has been put under a supervision condition by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) following his conviction for stalking.
Mr Milne, who runs London firm Andrew Milne & Co, has also come under increasing scrutiny of late for his approach to selling freeholds he owns to the properties’ leaseholders.
He was convicted earlier this month of stalking a court blogger and will be sentenced next month.
On Friday, the SRA said one of its adjudicators had decided [1] that Mr Milne’s practising certificate be made subject to the condition that he “may not act as a solicitor without the supervision of a solicitor approved by the SRA for this purpose”.
This aims to control, rather than sanction, Mr Milne’s practice while fuller investigations are ongoing.
An SRA spokesman said: “We have serious concerns regarding Mr Milne’s conviction for stalking, as well as wider allegations which have been made.”
The condition reflected the regulator’s priority to protect the public, he added.
The SRA is continuing to separately consider the imposition of further conditions in relation to the wider concerns regarding Mr Milne’s conduct.
These have emerged over Mr Milne’s acquisition of multiple freeholds in various parts of Northern England and attempts to sell them to the leaseholders for what Bolton West MP Phil Brickell said in Parliament last month were “massively inflated prices – sometimes as much as £25,000”.
Condemning the tactics he said the solicitor used to persuade people to buy, he accused the SRA of doing “nothing to stop” Mr Milne.
In a debate on the business of the House of Commons, he asked the leader of the House to set aside government time for a debate on “the lack of action by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in cracking down on lawyers like Milne”.
Sir Alan Campbell replied: “This sounds like a concerning case and I am sure the whole House will join me in condemning the behaviour my honourable friend describes.
“The Solicitors Regulation Authority is an independent regulator, however the minister for courts and legal services is writing to it to seek an update and assurance about what action is being taken or what action it intends to take. I will ensure that he is updated on that.”
Also last month, in a debate on commonhold and leasehold reform, Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake said: “[The minister] will be aware that over 170 houses in my constituency have had their freeholds purchased by Andrew Milne, who is now demanding that residents pay sums sometimes exceeding £25,000 to buy out the freeholds, and is threatening forfeiture and High Court action if they do not pay up.”
She asked what the steps the government are taking to regulate freeholders.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook replied that “I will be careful in what I say in respect of that particular case”, adding that there was to be a meeting with Sheffield MPs about it.
Mr Milne did not respond to our attempt to contact him after Mr Brickell’s comments or yesterday.
But in response to an article by the Sheffield Tribune [2] on the sale of freeholds, he said: “Today, leasehold houses are extremely unusual and buyers normally insist on the freehold. If a buyer wants to have the flexibility to make alterations in the future and the lease prohibits all alterations it is essential that they buy the freehold and in such circumstances sales are often abortive if they cannot get the freehold…
“Anyone who has purchased from our client has been represented by solicitors who have provided independent legal advice and then conducted the conveyancing transaction in accordance with all their own requirements.”
Separately, in the wake of Mr Milne’s conviction but before last week’s announcement, and in light of their concerns over his freehold activities, Mr Brickell, Ms Blake, Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh and Sheffield Central MP Abtisam Mohamed wrote a joint letter [3] to SRA chief executive Sarah Rapson to say that the conviction “makes it absolutely clear that he is not fit to be a solicitor”.
While noting that the regulator was considering interim conditions on his practising certificate, they said: “We are therefore urging you to suspend Milne as a matter of urgency.”