While Ant Middleton has built a career on his Special Forces persona on TV, he has finally settled a high court legal claim from the MoD regarding his time in service
Ant Middleton made a fortune out of his “Special Forces” brand – but the Ministry of Defence weren’t happy with what he’d been saying.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins hardman has been facing a legal battle, after allegedly “spilling secrets” and betraying the sacred code of the barracks. The MoD filed a lawsuit against the 45-year-old last October, claiming he had shared classified details on an episode of the Mike Drop podcast published on YouTube last July, titled Exposing The Quiet Split Between UK And US Forces.
Because of this, he was accused of breach of contract within the military.
READ MORE: Ant Middleton to be sued for ‘spilling secrets’ after rant at military chiefs
Ant served in the special forces from 2008 to 2011 and agreed that he would not disclose information relating to his special forces service without “express prior authority in writing” from the MoD. But the alleged breach included segments titled “final stages of SAS selection” and “red tape in Afghanistan and the breaking point”.
However, Ant, who is running to be mayor of London in 2028 as an independent, denied this allegation, and said the legal action was “sudden, severe and disproportionate”.
According to the London Standard, barristers for the MoD told a hearing last November that Mr Middleton had signed an agreement when joining the special forces that prevented him from disclosing information about the work of UK special forces, even if the information is not accurate. The barrister further stated that the former special forces officer wasn’t given authorisation to speak about information on the nearly four hour long podcast episode, that has been streamed more than 165,000 views.
During this hearing, Mr Justice Garnham put a temporary injunction in place that blocked Mr Middleton from breaching the agreement until the legal claim was resolved – which it reportedly has been now
The court heard that the MoD would neither confirm nor deny whether the statements made by Mr Middleton in the podcast were accurate, but had claimed they were covered by the contract regardless. Mr Middleton represented himself at the hearing, and told the court his military service included tours of Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone and that he now lives in the United Arab Emirates.
In his defence, he said disclosing information that could endanger soldiers was “against everything I have ever known or stood for” and that the information he cited in the podcast was “easily obtained by internet search”.
Furthermore, he added: “I believe the suggestion that I have revealed military secrets is truly shocking and unfounded.” While stating that some of the information he spoke about while serving for the Royal Marines is “not covered by the confidentiality contract”.
After a further hearing scheduled for earlier this month did not take place, an MoD spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that the claim had been settled. “We can confirm that legal proceedings have now concluded with a settlement being reached,” they said, and it’s understood Mr Middleton has recommitted to complying with the terms of the agreement as part of the settlement.
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