The Sun, on UK Politics, 25 October 2026

3.0out of 10Minor

Police forces spend £1m kitting out obese cops with XXXXL body armour & 60-inch trousers as drop in standards slammed

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Comment now Next POLICE forces have spent around £1million kitting out chubby cops with supersized body armour and trousers. A Sun probe found forces have ordered 282 XXXXL vests big enough for a 68-inch chest in the past two years. The Met Police bought 82 pairs of patrol trousers with 50in waists and 88 pairs at 48in. The London force also had trousers specially made in sizes 56R and a staggering 60R. Advertisement Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you!

Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: “If you have a 60-inch waist or a 68-inch chest, you aren’t fit enough to be a police officer. “We’ve seen the standards that were enforced fade away and diluted to the point of being meaningless. It’s utterly ridiculous.

READ MORE UK NEWS DEADLY STORM Two killed by falling trees as 84mph Storm Boelo leaves 160,000 without power TRAVEL CHAOS Power cut at major UK airport as hundreds stuck in 'two-hour security queues' “Officers should be fit enought to run, fight and detain a criminal. If they can’t do that then they should do something else.” Constabularies ordered at least 1,089 custom-made vests for cops who could not squeeze into standard sizes. Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests revealed Cumbria Police alone bought 731 bespoke big-sized sets of armour, while Lincolnshire spent £83,962.70 on 149.

Hampshire Police paid £46,955.60 for 41 sets. More than 1,200 officers in England and Wales failed a fitness test in 2023, but only two were sacked for it in four years. Most read in The Sun CLAMP CLIMBDOWN Reforms for migrants seeking permanent residence face being watered down GREEN RAP Greens branded 'racist' by major Jewish organisation after passing Zionism motion DAVID WOODING We had an 'honest discussion' about the EU, Andy… it was called a referendum THE SUN SAYS We need a serious PM & TikTok’s Andy Burnham shows no signs of being that man However, the acting national chairman of the Police Federation, Paul Williams, does not see it as a problem.

He said: “Police officers run towards danger and put their lives on the line. Advertisement “They come in all shapes and sizes. Frankly, the public should be far more concerned about whether officers have body armour that can save their lives than the size on their uniform label.” Comment now

Read the original article on thesun.co.uk

What we found (2)

The Sun reports Freedom of Information figures on large and bespoke police uniform orders and gives space to both a critic and the Police Federation. In its own voice it calls the officers "obese" and "chubby" on the strength of kit sizes alone. It sets a one-year fitness test figure against a four-year dismissal figure and gives no base.

Uses a loaded word
Minor
“obese cops”
Why this matters
The headline calls the officers "obese cops" in The Sun's own voice.
The impression it gives
Readers believe the forces have established that the officers being kitted out are medically obese.
The context
The article gives only garment sizes and orders of custom kit. It offers no weight, BMI or fitness data for the officers who wear them, and custom armour may be ordered for reasons of fit other than size.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“custom-made vests for cops who could not squeeze into standard sizes”
Show it in the article
“chubby cops”
Why this matters
The opening line repeats the verdict with the mocking word "chubby" in the outlet's voice.
The impression it gives
Readers take it as fact that the officers are overweight and that this is the reason for the spending.
The context
The only basis in the article is the size of the kit ordered. Body armour sizes depend on build and height as well as weight, and the article never establishes why any officer needed larger kit.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“282 XXXXL vests big enough for a 68-inch chest”
Show it in the article
Uses figures that mislead
Minor
“More than 1,200 officers in England and Wales failed a fitness test in 2023, but only two were sacked for it in four years”
Why this matters
The sentence sets a one-year count of failed tests against a four-year count of dismissals, with no total number of officers tested and no word on retests.
The impression it gives
Readers believe forces let unfit officers stay on almost without exception.
The context
The two figures cover different periods. The article never says how many officers were tested, what share 1,200 is, or whether those who failed later passed a retest. Without that, a reader cannot tell whether two dismissals is a failure of enforcement.
How we know
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “retest”.
Show it in the article

What it gets right

“the acting national chairman of the Police Federation, Paul Williams, does not see it as a problem”
The Sun gives the officers' representative body a named voice to answer the criticism, so the article is not one-sided.
“Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests revealed”
It names the source of its figures and gives force-by-force numbers, so readers can check them.

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