Drunken Grenfell Tower lawyer arrested after late-night confrontation with her neighbour after all-day drinks is cleared of assault

Daily Mail​

22-05-2025

A drunken human rights lawyer who was involved in the Grenfell Tower inquiry has been cleared of all charges after she was arrested for a late-night confrontation with a neighbour.
Scarlett Milligan, 32, was accused of assaulting Kemi Adebiyi, 48, after she enjoyed all-day birthday drinks with her fellow-barrister boyfriend Benjamin Waistell in May 2022.
The pair had been drinking locally in Wandsworth, London, but they had a row and Milligan found herself locked out of Mr Waistell's home in Cromford Road.
In footage shown at the hearing, Milligan could be heard shouting 'f***** c***' in the doorway of Ms Adebiyi's home as her boyfriend held her back.
The trial at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court collapsed when office manger Ms Adebiyi did not appear to give evidence, saying she was hospitalised with an insect bite.
Prosecutor Benn Maguire offered no evidence and BBP London Law School graduate Milligan was found not guilty of assaulting Ms Adebiyi.
Earlier this year a Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court jury cleared Milligan of the racially-aggravated assault of Ms Adebiyi.
The latest verdict concludes a three-year investigation and prosecution that also saw Mr Waistell, a Lincoln's Inn lawyer with XXIV Old Buildings, in the dock for alleged assault and criminal damage. He was cleared of the charges last year.
'The defendant [Milligan] is described as of 'impeccable character' in her application,' Mr Maguire told the court yesterday.
'May I show a recording of what happened that night? This is a recording of the defendant.'
Deputy District Judge David Bolton watched mobile phone footage recorded by Ms Adebiyi, first showing Waistell screaming at the complainant, followed by Milligan.
'The recording does show unattractive behaviour by Ms Milligan and it is accepted that no party behaved themselves well that night,' said Gudrun Young KC, defending.
'However, it does not seem fair or appropriate to play a small section of the footage to blacken Ms Milligan.
'It is inappropriate that it be played completely out of context.'
Milligan broke down in tears in the dock when the possibility of a trial in September was discussed, wailing: 'I can't do it.'
'She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, has memory loss and migraines and is signed-off work,' added the KC.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service yesterday pushed back at 32-year-old Scarlett Milligan's claim she is of 'impeccable character'.
Mr Maguire said: 'The purpose of showing this footage to the court is in response to the assertion that Ms Milligan is of 'impeccable character.'
'She is the person in the video with her hand going towards the complainant.'
Milligan was accused of grabbing Ms Adebiyi's neck, leaving no injury and Waistell was acquitted after arguing that he was rescuing his girlfriend from their neighbour's assault.
Trouble began when Ms Adebiyi's meditation was disturbed by Milligan lying in the road outside her ground-floor flat, making loud groaning noises.
She went outside and asked: 'Is she okay? She is making a lot of noise,' prompting Waistell to respond: 'You f*** off,' triggering an exchange of insults between the parties.
Milligan was recorded on a next-door neighbour's Ring doorbell shouting: 'Shut your door you ugly c***,' and: 'You f****** ugly twat,'
Throughout the recording Ms Adebiyi can be heard mockingly referring to the couple as 'Tarquin' and 'Karen,' suggesting Ms Milligan was feigning a mental health episode.
She is heard shouting: 'You think you can enter my home and attack me?
'This is typical white privilege. She's seeking attention, she's a typical Karen, an attention seeker.
'I came out to try and help and Karen began railing on me and then Tarquin decides to come over here and enter my home and rescue Karen.
'I am going to stream this. You're going to lose your jobs you f***ing racists.'
Ms Adebiyi dialled 999 and told the operator: 'I heard howling in the middle of the street. A man who looks like he plays rugby told me to f*** off.'
Five minutes later Waistell also called the police, saying: 'My girlfriend has been attacked. She (Adebiyi) came out because we were loud in the street and dragged her in the house and attacked her.
'I had to break the door down to get her out. She thinks my girlfriend is suicidal and that it's funny. My girlfriend is a little bit drunk.'
Ms Young submitted: 'We have reached the point where enough is enough and given the history of this case we urge caution accepting at face value the assertion the complainant can't attend due to ill health.
'She has a history of manufacturing injuries that do not exist and accuses people who are victims of her assaults. She is a manipulative individual.
'She told the police she had scratches from the assault, but they were very, very old. That is the sort of character we are dealing with, someone who lies to the police.
'She is more than capable of lying about injuries, lying to the police and fabricating injuries and manipulating the process.
'Ms Milligan is immediately heard screaming: "My head", and Mr Waistell enters and carries her out in his arms and she is covered in multiple bruises as a result of this incident.'
In her statement to police Milligan said: 'I was drinking throughout the day and by the evening I was drunk. I had an argument with Ben and he left the pub.
'I couldn't access Ben's address because of the bottom lock and I became very upset and was lying in the middle of the road crying.'
She said an 'abusive woman' confronted her saying: 'If you're going to kill yourself, get on with it.
'The lady continued to hurl abuse at me and she became more and more heated with her abuse.
'I ended up in her doorway and the next thing I remember is being pulled by the hair over the threshold of her address. The woman struck me and I was savagely kicked to the head, I think I lost consciousness.'
Deputy District Judge Bolton said: 'I am aware of the impact this has had on your client. It has been hanging over her for three years now and is a low-level assault, an allegation of grabbing at the neck without injury.
'This is extending the impact on the defendant and the application to adjourn the trial until September is refused.'
The verdict finally concluded a prosecution that saw three years of multiple court hearings; a failed application to dismiss the case; a two-day magistrates' court trial and a two-week Crown Court trial including sixteen hours of jury deliberations.