The Sun, on UK Politics, 25 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

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

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.3 findings

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 (3)

The Sun's headline calls the officers "obese cops", but the body only shows forces buying bespoke or large-sized kit for officers who did not fit standard sizes. It never establishes that any of them is obese. In its own voice it adds mocking words like "chubby" and "staggering", and it sets fitness test figures from mismatched periods beside the kit story without showing any link between them.

Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“kitting out obese cops”
Why this matters
The headline states as The Sun's own fact that the £1m was spent on "obese cops".
The impression it gives
That every officer fitted with this kit is obese, and that the money went on equipping obese officers.
The context
The body describes custom-made vests ordered for cops who could not fit standard sizes, and bespoke big-sized sets of armour. Nothing in the article gives any officer's weight or health, or shows that the buyers were obese rather than tall, broad or otherwise outside standard sizes. The only person who links size to fitness is a former detective quoted in the body.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“custom-made vests for cops who could not squeeze into standard sizes”
- Elsewhere in the article“bespoke big-sized sets of armour”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Police forces spent around £1m on bespoke and large-size body armour and uniforms for officers outside standard sizes, a Sun investigation found; a former detective said the trend showed falling fitness standards.
Uses a loaded word
Minor
“chubby cops with supersized body armour”
Why this matters
In its own voice The Sun calls the officers "chubby" and their kit "supersized".
The impression it gives
That the officers are fat and that the spending is a joke.
The context
The article's facts are kit sizes and costs. They say nothing about the officers' build beyond not fitting standard sizes.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“cops who could not squeeze into standard sizes”
Show it in the article
“a staggering 60R”
Why this matters
The word "staggering" turns a trouser size into a verdict.
The impression it gives
That the size is outrageous in itself.
The context
The article reports only that the Met had trousers made in these sizes. It gives no figure on how many such pairs there were or why they were needed.
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 failure count beside a four-year sacking count, inside a story about kit sizes.
The impression it gives
That oversized officers are failing fitness tests and keeping their jobs.
The context
The two figures cover different periods. The article never shows any link between the officers who failed and the officers who needed larger kit.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“in the past two years”
Show it in the article

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