Channel 4 star Ant Middleton, the former Special Forces trooper, is facing the sack as Chief Cadet of the Royal Navy - but top brass have yet to pluck up the courage to tell him.

Navy chiefs have hatched a plot to remove the SAS: Who Dares Wins frontman after he called Black Lives Matter campaigners ‘absolute scum' and urged the public to ignore official advice over coronavirus.

Admiralty bosses hope to persuade Mr Middleton - who has apologised for his remarks - to resign from the honorary position to avoid a public row.

But if he refuses to step down, he will be formally dismissed. 

And perhaps with their personal safety in mind, the defence chiefs intend to telephone Mr Middleton rather than speak face to face with the 39-year-old TV hardman.

The manoeuvring, revealed in defence policy documents seen by The Mail on Sunday, comes just nine months after Mr Middleton's appointment as Chief Cadet.

In November last year, the TV star and author announced he was honoured to take up the role, explaining how he intended to inspire hundreds of cadets aged from nine to 17.

His appointment was seen as a boost to the profile of the Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC).

Since then he has joined cadets on challenging military exercises and passed on knowledge gleaned from 15 years of service in elite frontline units, including the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Service.