TV hardman Ant Middleton has hinted he wants to challenge Sadiq Khan to be London’s new mayor – as he outlined a plan to ‘cleanse’ the city’s blood-soaked streets and ‘reinstate British culture’ in the capital.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins presenter, 44, raged Britain was ‘rotting from its core’ and claimed London was now ‘one of the murder capitals of the world’.
Afghanistan veteran Middleton, who served in the UK’s elite Special Boat Service – the sister unit of the SAS, said the capital’s under-fire mayor, Sadiq Khan, ‘has to go’.
And the military tough guy – who is an outspoken supporter of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – also lashed out at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, demanding he is kicked from office, too.
Writing on X, father-of-five Ant said: ‘We need to free both our country and its capital simultaneously from their twisted grips (putting it politely) if we are to ever rebuild Britain back to a bigger, better and more unified version of itself.
‘With these two at the helm, division will always be at the bow! Secure the perimeter and cleanse from the inside…’
Middleton, who was sacked from his role as chief instructor on the Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins? back in 2021 over a series of controversial tweets, also appears eager to step into the frontlines of politics.
In recent weeks the former soldier has been ramping up his political action on social media – branding the PM ‘spineless’ while sharing posts from Reform UK.
Special forces veteran Ant Middleton has hinted that he wanted to run for London Mayor
The TV personality also lashed out at current mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured), saying he ‘needs to go’ over the handling of the capital’s knife crime epidemic
Over the weekend he sparked speculation that he wanted to become a future MP or to take on Mayor Khan in the next London mayoral election.
‘Would love to see you as a Reform MP, or Mayor of London,’ one fan wrote to Middleton, in which the SBS veteran replied: ‘Very interesting indeed!’
On Monday, the TV personality said that he had a ‘feeling’ his ‘duties will be reinstated once again’ after being told by a fan ‘your county needs you, Ant’.
And this morning Middleton this morning appeared to double down on a future bid to become London mayor by setting out a series of ‘priorities’ to tackle the city’s knife crisis.
‘Priority number one; Cleanse it from being one of the murder capitals of the world,’ he wrote on X. ‘Cleanse it from knives, machetes and guns that are not only killing UK citizens but also our children. Cleanse it from minors & woman being harassed and abused.
‘Cleanse its roads from illegal vehicles (and drivers) that are being used to commit countless crimes on a daily basis. Cleanse it from the ridiculous charges that it imposes on an already heavily taxed country.
‘Cleanse the tube, public transport and streets, they’re disgusting for a capital city. Cleanse the ridiculously low and double standards of our Metropolitan Police Force so everyone is treated fairly but predominantly feel safe to roam its historic streets.
‘Reinstate, celebrate and place to the forefront our wonderful British culture, heritage, values and morals and make London the heartbeat of our country once again. London must set and lead by example.’
Ant Middleton is a keen supporter of Reform UK. He is seen in September 2024 giving a speech at the party’s rally in Birmingham
Middleton has also hinted at wanting to become London’s new mayor – and hasn’t ruled out running as an prospective parliamentary candidate for Reform UK
However, Middleton has come under fire for the using the phrase ‘cleanse’ in his tweets.
‘Cleanse? Ethnically? Is that what you mean Ant?’ one person wrote on X.
In September Middleton took to the stage at Reform UK’s rally in Birmingham, where he warned the UK was on the brink of ‘civil unrest’ unless action was taken to put British culture at the ‘forefront of everything’.
Middleton said an ‘umbrella identity of British culture’ was needed to ensure there are ‘rules and regulations which everyone needs to adhere to’ and prevent division.
He also said the UK needed to toughen up its borders and tackle the illegal migrant crisis.
‘We haven’t got a secure camp because we don’t know who’s coming in,’ he said. They’re certainly not benefitting the environment, they’re certainly not adhering to the rules and regulations and they’re certainly not benefitting us as a nation
The comments come amid a surge in the number of illegal migrants reaching the UK’s shores.
Figures showed that in 2024, some 36,816 asylum seekers travelled across the Channel in small boats – higher than the 2023 total of 29,437.
Figures showed that in 2024, some 36,816 asylum seekers travelled across the Channel in small boats – higher than the 2023 total of 29,437.
Ant Middleton has previously spoken out about the need to improve Britain’s borders
However, the highest recorded figures are for 2022, when 45,755 people made the crossing.
Meanwhile, in London Mayor Khan remains under pressure to tackle the knife crime epidemic blighting the city.
Last year he was criticised by former Tory PM Rishi Sunak over his record to tackle stabbings in the capital.
Mr Sunak said that under Mayor Khan, London had been the only place in the UK not to meet its police recruitment targets.
The former PM added: ‘Knife crime is rising in London, where it is falling outside of London. The one place in the country that has not met its police recruitment targets is London under Sadiq Khan. That’s what the reality of Labour in power means.’
Recent figures show knife crime in the capital has surged.
In the year ending June 2024, London recorded 15,859 knife crimes, a 16 per cent increase from the previous year.
This is the highest number of knife crime offences reported in London since 2019/20.
Meanwhile in 2023/24, London had a homicide rate of 13.1 per million people – which is the highest in the UK.
However, the figure is comparable with other European cities and is lower than many major US cities, with New York’s rate in 2023 being 46 murders per million people, while Chicago had more than 220 killings per million, and Philadelphia had more than 250.
MailOnline has approached Mayor Khan and Ant Middleton for comment.
