Latest news with #AntMiddleton
Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
BRIAN READE: ‘Haters may try to divide us but they can never conquer our spirit'
WITH the shocked and injured still strewn across Water Street, the lies began to spew. Without a thought for the fate of dozens of casualties hit by a driver at Liverpool's trophy parade, or the fears of hundreds of thousands of others who knew loved ones were present, the immigrant-haters, far-right trolls and conspiracy theorists frantically pushed their agenda on social media as they declared it a terrorist incident. Tommy Robinson's X account called it 'suspected terror attack,' high-profile Reform UK supporter Ant Middleton deemed it a 'terrible terror-type incident' and warned: 'Do not believe anything that comes from police statements or the msm.' The leader of the British First Party, Paul Golding, fired off four posts headlined 'POSSIBLE TERROR ATTACK' while dozens more raged about uncontrolled Islamism, diversity destroying the West, Britain getting what it deserves due to opening its borders… and on and on the cesspit seethed. They were all ignorant of the truth and all extremely dangerous. And what's worse they knew it. Which was why Merseyside Police, recalling what happened last summer in Southport, rushed out the news that the alleged perpetrator was a 53-year-old white, British man. Which only further triggered the trolls as they demanded to know why the 'two-tier' police had mentioned his ethnicity. Is it because he was white, they asked? No. It's because you knuckle-scraping keyboard warriors had left them fearing another riot. But something else was happening on social media platforms in the aftermath of Monday's incident, when transport was closed down in the ensuing chaos, leaving thousands of people who had travelled to Liverpool for the celebrations, stranded. Locals were offering their phones to those without power, lifts to other towns and their spare bedrooms for those with nowhere to sleep. Nathan Johnson, along with two friends, drove 26 people to different parts of the UK and arranged rides for many others. When, in the following days, the grateful recipients offered him petrol money, he told them to donate it to food banks. John and Kerri Davies, who run J&K Travel, called in staff, mobilised four minibuses and spent six hours transporting more than 400 people across the Mersey to the Wirral, and would not take payment. Oli Fountain was one of dozens offering somewhere to stay for the night, posting on X: 'Anyone stuck in town who can't get home give me a dm, have 2 sofas people can crash on, can put the kettle on and get people warm at least.' People turned up at Lime Street railway station with food and drinks, taxi drivers offered free lifts and hospital staff abandoned their bank holiday plans and went into work. This, along with the swift actions of the emergency services, was the real story of the human response amid Monday's panic. This is the real truth about people in this country, especially in my home city of Liverpool. That most are a font of goodness who want to unite communities not divide them. The individuals and political organisations who shout loudest about being the true patriots among us are often cowardly traitors consumed with prejudice. The real patriots are those who get on with helping others without caring what colour or race they are. As the aftermath of Monday's horror showed: Heroes don't always wear capes, but villains always wear their keyboards out with hate.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Conspiracy theorists seize on chaos in Liverpool
The injured were still lying in the road when conspiracy theories started circulating online. Not even an hour had passed after a driver rammed his car into Liverpool fans celebrating their club winning the Premier League, when prolific users of X, formerly Twitter, took to the site to speculate on the motive and identity of the driver. At 6.55pm, less than an hour after the incident occurred Tommy Robinson, a far-Right activist, wrongly described it as a 'suspected terror attack,' despite Merseyside Police making no such mention in their statement. An hour later, Ant Middleton, former Special Forces soldier and Reform UK supporter, pushed the theory further, writing: 'When you have leaders normalising terrorist attacks by saying that they're part and parcel of big city living, you open yourself up to these types of national threats!' Undoubtedly mindful of the disorder in Southport last summer, by 8pm Merseyside Police announced they had arrested a 53-year-old white British man. Conspiracy theorists' posts had frightening echoes of the hours after Axel Rudakabana's murdering of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last July. Reporting restrictions had prevented Rudakubana, then aged 17, from being named. The lack of information about the suspect's identity saw riots engulf the seaside town after rumours spread he was a Muslim asylum seeker. This time the force poured cold water on rumours, releasing the suspect's details just two hours after the incident. By 10.30pm they'd held a press conference with further details, saying at 10.56pm, undoubtedly mindful of the disorder last summer, that it was not being treated as a terror attack. That should have put conspiracy theories to bed. But sceptics have raised questions over videos which show a young man driving what appears to be the offending vehicle despite the man arrested being aged 53. Writing on X, James Goddard said: 'Media announce driver is a 53-year-old White British male but in the footage the driver looks in his early 30's not 50's 'No doubt the authorities are working overtime to piece a dishonest narrative together to feed the public.' Numerous anonymous accounts on X began questioning whether this was a media and government plan to keep the truth from the public. People began speculating whether it was a false-flag attack, while others continued to insist that a man seen lying on the ground wrestling with police officers was in fact the driver of the car. As more details about the alleged attack emerged late on Tuesday, including the fact he was arrested on suspicion of being high on drugs at the time, the conspiracy theorists seized upon one detail still missing from reports: a name. The fact that there was no name was to many, on social media at least, proof that something was being hidden from them. 'Until the name of the man is made public, don't believe anything', one X user posted. The reality is that police never name a suspect until they are charged. Merseyside Police said on Tuesday, during a second press conference, that they had been granted an extension to question the suspect until Wednesday lunchtime. At that point they will either have to release the man on bail, or make a charging decision. Whether even that will stop the manic, unfounded speculation that now seems to inevitably follow mass-casualty incidents such as Southport and Liverpool, remains unknown.
New European
4 days ago
- New European
Reform can't resist Liverpool conspiracy theories
Within two hours of a car driving into a crowd at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade, Merseyside Police announced they had arrested a white British man, aged 53. At that point, police also said that the incident was not being treated as terrorism, hoping to stop any wild speculation leading into unrest, as happened last year. Police on Merseyside, keen to avoid the vacuum which allowed the far right to decide who was responsible for the murders of three children in Southport last year, were much quicker to put information in the public domain following last night's horrific incident in Liverpool. Not that this stopped some of the right's more dedicated conspiracy theorists. Ant Middleton, former TV presenter and putative Reform candidate for Mayor of London in 2028, weighed in on, inevitably, X, urging his 427,000 followers not to 'believe anything that comes from police statements or the msm… Corruption runs deep and lessons were well and truly learnt from the not too distant past! 'God bless all the scousers and to all involved in this terrible 'terror type' incident, may strength be with you! You are in my prays [sic] this evening! Romans 8:26,' he added. Pointed out to him that the suspect was a white Briton, Middleton – who himself has spent time in prison for the unlawful wounding of a male police officer and common assault on a female PC – responded: 'It doesn't matter his skin colour, it's the motive behind why he done [sic] it. Which could be a number of things. 'This tactic being used multiple times as confirmed terror attacks who suggest it comes from that handbook and terror attack or not this should be treated primarily as suspected terrorist activity until proven otherwise.' Meanwhile, Middleton's Reform colleague and fellow noted national security expert Darren Grimes – formerly of GB News, now a Durham councillor – was irked by an initial BBC report that, with confirmation of the nature of the incident yet to come, labelled it a road traffic collision. 'Road traffic collision? Do the BBC know we've all seen the awful videos? I hope to Almighty God there is an explanation for what's happened in Liverpool,' he wrote on X. When it emerged that the suspect was white and British, Grimes complained: 'Tonight has proven that the police can give out identifiable characteristics such as skin colour pretty damn fast when it suits the approved narrative.' All very distasteful when people are still seriously injured in hospital. Still, those lucrative likes and reposts won't harvest themselves.
Metro
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
TV star sells family home for seven-figures after bankruptcy
Ant Middleton has sold his family home for a staggering £1.35million after facing bankruptcy. The former SAS: Who Dares Wins star and UK special forces soldier was forced to put his house on the market after facing debts worth £1.2million. The decision came after the 44-year-old decided to move to Dubai a few years ago with his wife and children. At the time he claimed it was because he did not 'agree' with the UK's culture and was being 'unfortunately silenced'. Now, after selling his Essex home – which he bought for £1.16million in 2019 – the TV star could stand to make a fortune after he agreed a sale price with a buyer, the Sun revealed. When advertising his five-bedroom home, prospective buyers could see his £50,000 orangery, designer kitchen and standalone gym. The forced sale of his family home came after the liquidation of Ant's company Sway and Starting. It's claimed that he failed to stick to a payment plan and only returned one instalment of money he owed from his overdrawn Directors Loan Account. According to The Sun, Ant was served a statutory demand with a view to petitioning for his bankruptcy, and the TV star agreed to sell his house and provide the remaining amount owed. Sway and Starting went into liquidation in December 2022 and a statement of affairs from January 2023 revealed tax debts of £1.2million. Ant left Channel 4 reality programme SAS: Who Dares Wins back in 2021 after he had hosted the show since 2015. At the time, it was said he was axed over his 'personal conduct', which came after he made controversial comments in relation to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and Covid-19. More Trending After far-right protestors clashed with BLM demonstrators in London, Ant called both groups 'scum' in a since-deleted post on X, which read: 'The extreme left against the extreme right. When did two wrongs make a right. 'It was only a matter of time. BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum. What a great example you are to your future generation. Bravo.' He later apologised in a video, insisting he is not a racist after facing severe backlash, saying: 'Within that tweet I mentioned the BLM and EDL and the word 'scum'. At no point was I calling the BLM scum and comparing the two organisations. I want to make that really, really clear. View More » 'The word scum was used to describe the people in the video that were violent, that were causing terror on the streets of London and setting a bad example for our future generations.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Ant Middleton kicked off TV show months after selling home 'due to £1,200,000 debts'
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
SAS Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton 'sells his huge Essex family home for huge sum' amid tax woes
Ant Middleton has reportedly sold his huge Essex family home for a huge sum, believed to be in the region of £1.35million. The former SAS: Who Dares Wins star, 44, was allegedly forced to put his five-bed property on the market after his reported business debts left him facing bankruptcy, according to The Sun. Ant and his wife Emilie, also 44, purchased their swanky rural home in 2019 for £1.16million and have now reportedly sold it with a nice profit, though it didn't met their initial asking price of £1.5million. According to the publication, the TV fitness star's lavish property boasted a £50,000 orangery, a lavish designer kitchen and a gym, and was worth £1.5million. MailOnline has contacted Ant's representatives for comment. The sale of the couple's matrimonial home had been reported in a liquidation update for Ant's company Sway and Starting. Filed at Companies House, a Progress Report on the 'media representation' business, stated: 'During the period a settlement was entered into with the director whereby he would pay £300,000 in full and final settlement of his overdrawn Directors Loan Account. 'The director failed to adhere to the payment plan and only one instalment was received. 'A statutory demand was served on the Director with a view to petitioning for his bankruptcy. He subsequently agreed to sell his matrimonial home and provide the remainer of the amount owed under the settlement agreement.' It was recently reported that Ant, a father-of-five, was banned from being a company director after he failed to pay his taxes. Ant, previously the boss of Sway and Starting Limited along with his wife Emilie Middleton, allegedly left large amounts unpaid despite making more than four times the money over the same period. In total, the company didn't hand over more than £1million in tax but continued to welcome £4.5million into its accounts, 'indicating it had enough money to pay the tax it owed in full', the Government's Insolvency Service said. The statement added: 'Both the directors failed to ensure the company paid more than £300,000 in VAT and over £800,000 in corporation tax between 2019 and 2022. 'This was despite more than £4.5 million being paid into the company's accounts from 2020 to 2022. 'The pair had also taken out almost £3 million from the company in the form of a director's loan account by the time the company went into liquidation in December 2022. 'Ant Middleton later agreed to repay £300,000 of the director's loan as a full and final settlement with the liquidator.' The Middletons have been subsequently banned as company directors for four years. Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services at the Insolvency Service, said: 'Companies not paying the tax they should deprives the government of the money it needs to pay for the country's defence services, our NHS, schools and universities, and transport systems. 'Ant and Emilie Middleton had legal and financial duties as directors to ensure their company paid the corporation tax and VAT it owed. Instead, they were taking millions of pounds out of the company at that time. 'This disqualification should serve as a deterrent to other directors that if you do not pay your taxes while directing money elsewhere, you are at risk of being banned.' Ant formed the company in September 2019, with his wife becoming a director in May 2019. Previously known as Middleton Global Limited, Sway and Starting was set up to manage income from Ant's television and media work and is described as offering media representation services. The company failed to pay any of the £869,351 in corporation tax it owed between September 2019 and March 2021. In addition, Sway and Starting only paid £267,443 in VAT out of a total £651,961 between March 2020 and September 2022, leaving £384,518 unpaid. Meanwhile, Insolvency Service analysis of the firm's bank accounts showed £4,592,200 was paid into the company between April 2020 and November 2022. By the time of its liquidation, the pair also owed Sway and Starting at least £2,961,745 through their director's loan account. Bans against Ant and Emilie by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade began earlier this year. The pair are now reportedly prevented from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. A Companies House Progress Report said: 'During the period a settlement was entered into with the director whereby he would pay £300,000 in full and final settlement of his overdrawn Directors Loan Account. 'The director failed to adhere to the payment plan and only one instalment was received. 'A statutory demand was served on the Director with a view to petitioning for his bankruptcy. He subsequently agreed to sell his matrimonial home and provide the remainder of the amount owed under the settlement agreement.' Sway and Starting went into liquidation in December 2022, with the progress report filed by liquidators Begbies Traynor being the third insolvency document drawn up. A Statement of Affairs signed off by Ant at liquidation reported monies owed by directors to the firm stood at £2.7million. Also reported were £1.2million in tax debts - comprising £342,792 in VAT, £907,191 in corporation tax and £6,370 in employee taxes. Sway and Starting was set up by the couple in 2014, trading as Middleton Global until September 2022. Its original net worth was modest but an upturn in profits was soon underway, accompanied by an increase in the firm's tax debt.
