Patience is definitely a virtue in journalism. The Tribune published our first story about Andrew Milne, the London solicitor who has been bullying Sheffield leaseholders out of thousands of pounds, on 6 November last year. Now, almost four months later, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has finally taken action. On Friday, an email dropped into our inbox saying he had been sanctioned by the body, and would no longer be able to practice without the supervision of an SRA-approved solicitor overseeing his work. That's today’s big story.
As well as that, we have great photo from the Chinese New Year celebrations, Punjabi food at Sheffield General Cemetery with Ammi's Kitchen, and a lovely little terrace in Heeley.
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Last week we shared the news that we want to launch a sister title, just a few miles up the M1 in Leeds. Now, we know that Sheffield and Leeds sometimes don't get on, but there is an outside chance that some of you might know a few Loiners (the word for people from Leeds, in case you didn't know). If you want our Yorkshire neighbours to have the same access to high quality local news that Tribune readers do, please spread the word. More than 200 people have pledged their support already. At 500 they will be able to hire their first reporter.
In case you missed it
For our weekend read, Dan visited the Loxley valley to find out about a driving range that locals think is actually a landfill. Over the last two years, a vast earthwork has appeared on the side of one of the most beautiful valleys in the city, but questions are being asked about what the owners’ true motivations are, and whether Sheffield council knew what they were agreeing to when they approved it. You can read that piece here.
On Tuesday, we sent our regular contributor Holly Williams to London Road armed with only The Tribune expenses card and a healthy appetite, for a piece about the huge range of food it has to offer. In a piece in The Star last year, London Road was dubbed the “unhealthiest street in Sheffield”, but others think it’s actually the best street for food in the entire city. To read the piece, and see all the reader recommendations in the comments, click here.
And on Friday, Victoria waded into an almighty online row triggered by pro-Palestine doorknocking in Woodseats. The five members of Sheffield Apartheid-Free Zone accused of “Jew hunting door to door” by Jean Hatchet insist they were doing nothing of the sort.
As we mentioned in the article, Jean posted a video on X of activist Jon Cowley declaring he is “completely and utterly anti-Semitic”. Jon insists this clip is fake and must have been altered with AI – a claim Jean denies. However, in addition to the signs discussed in our article, eagle-eyed Tribune member Alex McLean has spotted another puzzling detail suggesting something might be awry. Towards the end of the clip, a woman in the background wearing a black coat with a light blue top underneath steps out of frame very briefly, although her arm stays in the shot, and then seemingly reappears wearing a scarf.
In a thread of 30 posts rebutting our article paragraph by paragraph on her X account, Jean doesn’t seem fazed by this allegation, describing it as a “little theory” from “some random troll on the internet”. What she does seem very concerned by is the fact that Victoria’s fringe is a bit messy in her author profile photo on our website. “I literally wasted hours Victoria wondering why your fringe is trying to leave your head in opposite directions,” she writes, going on to mention Victoria’s fringe a further four times.
If history is often written by the victors, then journalism is far too often written by those most willing to sue. Jean mentioned having an excellent lawyer very early on in her conversation with Victoria, which might have been enough to put another publication off challenging her account. Not us, though. We’re only able to take a stand against people who want to threaten us into silence because of more than 3,000 people who pay to support us. We’d love it if you became one of them today.
The big picture: Horse play 🐴
Chinese New Year celebrations took place in Sheffield city centre at the weekend to mark the beginning of the Year of the Horse. As well as the traditional lion dance, there were performances by Wanlin Dance Group, martial arts demonstrations, and hat juggling by Guizhou Acrobatics Team. This great photo was captured by Andy Brown for Sheffield BID.
The big story: Andrew Milne sanctioned by Solicitors Regulation Authority
Top line: Andrew Milne, the solicitor accused of bullying hundreds of Sheffield leaseholders out of thousands of pounds, has been barred from practicing as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and will need oversight by an SRA-approved solicitor in order to work.
“Serious concerns”: Ever since The Tribune first reported on Milne’s activities in Sheffield, there have been calls for the Solicitors Regulation Authority to act. Last week, they finally did so. In a statement which appeared on their website on Friday, an SRA spokesperson said:
“We have serious concerns regarding Mr Milne’s conviction for stalking, as well as wider allegations which have been made. Our priority is to protect the public. This is why, as a result of his conviction, we have imposed a condition upon him which means he may not act as a solicitor without being supervised by a further solicitor, who we have approved to act in this capacity.”
“Egregious bullying”: This is the first time Andrew Milne has faced consequences for using his status as a solicitor to give credence to his attempts to threaten leaseholders, though it will be little consolation for the residents who have already handed over tens of thousands of pounds to Milne.
- Many residents said that Milne used his status as a solicitor to bully them. Helen* remembers the moment she found the letters on the doormat. She opened them to see a letterhead from a City of London solicitor, and immediately she was worried. We were also told that people believed the costs for them of fighting Milne in court would be very high, due to the cost of hiring solicitors, but low for Milne as he could represent himself.
- When our colleagues at The Mill in Manchester wrote about a similar case in Bolton, MP Phil Brickell called it "one of the most egregious cases of bullying I have ever seen" and demanded the SRA look at where Milne had a case to answer.
Stalking conviction: Earlier this month, Milne was found guilty of stalking court blogger Daniel Cloake. He has yet to be sentenced but a group of MPs urged the SRA to act straight away, writing that his conviction "makes it absolutely clear that he is not fit to be a solicitor."
- Now, the SRA say Milne is no longer fit to practice — unless he has oversight by an SRA-approved solicitor.
- A wider SRA investigation into Milne continues, which could lead them to impose further conditions on his licence.
- Given a criminal barrister has said Milne's actions amount to unwarranted demands with menaces, will South Yorkshire Police take action?
Another moan about The Star: When this news was covered by BBC Sheffield, their piece clearly credited The Tribune’s role in breaking the story last year. However, as with their previous two pieces about Andrew Milne, when The Star covered it earlier today, their piece makes no mention of us at all. We’re sorry to say it’s looking like the paper has made a clear editorial decision never to credit The Tribune, which is hugely disappointing. The editor’s email is news@thestar.co.uk if you want to back us up.
Bottom line: Media spats aside, the fact that the SRA has now acted to sanction Milne is brilliant news. We think it’s unlikely he will agree to work under an SRA approved supervisor, and it should lessen his ability to intimidate. However, it’s not the SRA, but SYP who have the most important role here. As called for last week by Louise Haigh MP, they need to show justice is being done — fast.
Your Tribune briefing 🗞️
🏗️ An astonishing story in The Star about a row between a developer and Sheffield council that could see a huge building project mothballed. The owners of CODE Co-living, a tower block currently under construction in the city centre, have said they will abandon the project if Sheffield council don’t let them alter the planning application to make all 1,100 apartments studio flats. However, the council recently turned down CODE’s request to alter the planning application on the grounds that it would create “the largest single collection of homogenous substandard units anywhere in the city”. CODE say they intend to appeal the decision, but managing director, Jamie Lewis, confirmed that the scheme would be mothballed if the changes were not agreed. If it does go ahead, the building would be one of the tallest buildings in Sheffield at 26 storeys. Work on the two-year project started last year.
🦉 It’s been on the cards for months but now it’s finally confirmed: Sheffield Wednesday will play in League One next season, after suffering the earliest relegation in football league history (no team has ever been relegated as early as February). If that wasn’t bad enough, who were the team that confirmed their fate? None other than their bitter city rivals Sheffield United. The Owls lost 2-1 at Bramall Lane on Sunday, leaving them an insurmountable 40 points behind the current 21st placed team West Brom. This season was always going to be tough for Wednesday, following multiple points deductions, hated owner Dejphon Chansiri leaving the club in a dire financial situation, and the sale of many of their best and most experienced players. The challenge now will be to build a squad capable of competing next season to get back to the Championship at the first time of asking.
✈️ Yesterday’s Sunday Times warned that some of the UK’s smaller airports “could follow Doncaster Sheffield into closure” due to a sustained drop in passenger numbers — not exactly a great omen for our local airport’s plans to reopen. Analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data by The Times shows many smaller airports are not recovering as quickly from lockdown, with some recording passenger numbers last year that were nearly half their pre-Covid levels. This is despite air travel being at a record high, with 299 million passengers flying from the UK last year. AirportsUK, the sector’s trade body, admitted smaller airports were recovering more slowly but insisted they remain “viable and competitive”.
Home of the week 🏡
This two-bedroom terrace in Heeley is near the community farm and bus routes into the city centre. It’s on the market for £190,000.
Things to do 📆
Talk 🏳️🌈 On Tuesday, join Fiona Moorcroft from Sheffield LGBTQ+ organisation SAYiT at Weston Park Museum for another insightful lunchtime talk exploring the city's queer past. In the talk, Fiona will shine a spotlight on Queer Sheffield through the ages, taking a glimpse of the bars, the events, and the lives of the LGBTQ+ community in Sheffield, and uncovering new stories from the late 1800s to the late 1990s. Tickets are free (suggested donation £5).
Food 🍛 On Wednesday at 6pm, visit Sheffield General Cemetery for Supper Club with Ammi’s Kitchen. Ammi’s Kitchen is a Sheffield-based social enterprise transforming women’s culinary skills into paid work. It brings together local women from different cultures to cook delicious, nutritious, seasonal dishes, sharing recipes that have been passed down through generations. On the menu for this month is “A Taste of Punjab”. Tickets are priced £22.
Music 🎸 On Thursday, visit The Greystones for a performance by seminal post-punk band The Nightingales. Dubbed “the misfits’ misfits”, the Birmingham-based band achieved cult status in the 1980s and were championed by Radio 1 DJ John Peel. They reformed in 2004, and 2019 saw a new album and the filming of Stewart Lee’s highly-acclaimed Nightingales’ film King Rocker. Tickets are £17 and doors open at 8pm. Support comes from Terry Edwards.
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