Ant Middleton apologises for labelling Black Lives Matter protesters “absolute scum”

The TV star has deleted a tweet he posted over the weekend 
Rachel McGrath16 June 2020
The Weekender

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Ant Middleton has apologised and insisted he did not mean to “cause offence” after appearing to label Black Lives Matter supporters “absolute scum.”

The TV personality, who is best-known for SAS: Who Dares Wins, shared a now-deleted tweet over the weekend, 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.” [sic]

His post came after hundreds of people, including far-right groups, gathered in London on Saturday to “protect” statues despite the fact the official Black Lives Matter protest was cancelled.

Apology: Middleton has said he did not mean to cause offence (Getty Images )
Getty Images

The demonstration descended into violence with more than 100 arrests and 23 police officers injured.

After deleting his tweet, Middleton, 39, apologised in a video uploaded to the social media site, telling his 316,000 followers: “I retweeted a video of the violence, terror and chaos which was happening in the streets of London.

“At no point was I calling the BLM scum and comparing the two organisations. The word scum was used to describe those who were causing terror and setting a bad example for the future generation.”

Middleton added that he was “angry and I just wanted to get that tweet out to say it was unacceptable.”

“I love people, I am anti-racist, anti-violence, having lived and seen what violence does to people and countries,” he continued. “I apologise if my tweet came across as offensive, I'm here to push positive change.”

Over the weekend, Middleton also tweeted that the violent scenes in central London “truly saddened” him.

“Extreme groups running riots, threatening the very safety of the country that I’ve fought and sacrificed for,” he wrote. “How are we to bring up our children in this country when you are destroying it!

“Can’t you thugs see what you’re doing?!”

Before embarking on a television career, Middleton joined the army in 1998 at the age of 17.

He later enlisted in the Royal Marines before joining the Special Boat Service, the Royal Navy’s answer to the SAS.

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