Few sagas better illustrate the British judiciary’s patience— and its limits—than that of Paul Millinder. Once a businessman promoting a green energy scheme, Millinder has since become a cautionary tale about obsession, bureaucracy, and the thin line between persistence and vexation.
In 2012, Millinder’s company struck a deal with Middlesbrough Football Club to install a wind turbine at its Riverside Stadium. What began as a straightforward renewable-energy project soon descended into acrimony. Disputes over contracts and insolvency followed, spawning a tangle of litigation that outlasted the turbine itself.
Judges eventually tired of his relentless filings. By 2021, Millinder had earned the rare and ignominious title of “vexatious litigant”, forbidding him from bringing cases without permission. When he continued regardless, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court. Instead of serving his time, he absconded.
His latest gambit was to reappear in the courts through a new company, Deuda Ltd, apparently created to mask his hand. But the subterfuge failed. After a brief hearing, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that the applications were merely Millinder’s latest attempt to reopen long-settled matters. Not to be fooled, the judge dismissed them out of hand.
Millinder’s behaviour, the judge said, shows “no insight” into the vexatious nature of his crusade. His repeated claims have drained public funds and tested the endurance of Middlesbrough FC’s lawyers. Yet despite a civil restraint order, a contempt sentence, and a warrant still outstanding, Millinder has not surrendered.
For all the modern talk of access to justice, his tale serves as a reminder that persistence, when unchecked by reason, can turn the courts themselves into a stage for delusion. Somewhere out there, the windmill man is still tilting.