Daily Mail

I couldn’t do MY job while wearing it... so how on earth could he?

As UK’s anti-terror chief is ridiculed for posing in a ‘menopause vest’ for woke stunt, a writer who’s also experience­d its uncomforta­ble effects says...

- By Stephen Armstrong

Brain fog is said to be one of the main symptoms of the menopause. But only the truly foggy-brained would think it was a good idea for Britain’s anti-terror chief to put on a heated vest during the working day to simulate the effect of the hormonal changes older women experience — and then pose in it, beaming, for photograph­s.

as the Mail revealed on Saturday, several serving officers were outraged at Matt Jukes’s recent gesture, with one saying the ‘ politicall­y correct nonsense … beggared belief’, and a former chief superinten­dent slamming it as a ‘woke stunt’.

as well as being an assistant commission­er in the Met, responsibl­e for facing down Britain’s terror threat, Jukes now rejoices in the title HeForShe Gender Equality Lead.

For me — ironically, perhaps, given the MenoVest’s purpose — it was chilling that the senior cop felt this was a sensible use of his time. Britain faces a ‘substantia­l’ terrorist threat, according to Government intelligen­ce, meaning that an attack is ‘likely’. While drawing attention to the plight of menopausal women is a fine aim, was it really sensible to distract Jukes in this way, given the series of devastatin­g terrorist attacks Britain has suffered in recent years — and the unceasing nature of the threat?

This summer, i took the same MenoVest Challenge as Jukes did, spending 24 hours in the garment while modifying my eating, drinking, sleeping and bathing patterns to echo the effects of the menopause. i found it incredibly hard to function effectivel­y.

The vest is a black, high-necked bodywarmer that simulates the hot flushes that affect more than half of menopausal women. it weighs perhaps 2 lb and contains heating pads as well as red and black wires leading to a battery. it is programmed to warm itself to a roasting 45c, in waves that travel from the waist to the neck.

These ‘hot flushes’ occur more or less at random every five minutes or so. Once they’ve started, they’re so uncomforta­ble, it feels like they’re never going to end.

Meanwhile, brain fog, an increased need to urinate and other difficulti­es, all brought about by various lifestyle changes, added to the ordeal. (Campaigner­s say the menopause is associated with 50 or so physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms.)

But i’m a journalist, and the stakes of feeling a bit too hot while typing up an interview, or needing to pee while on the phone, are a little lower than they are for the man in charge of the UK’s terror response.

When i wore the MenoVest in July, having been taught how to use it by Lesley Salem from menopause support group Over The Bloody Moon, i’d be typing at my computer and feel a gentle heat around my belly. Like the wave of pain you get during an earache, this would increase in intensity.

if i was on the phone, i’d end up having to call the other person back once the wave had passed. it felt like i was wading through boiling treacle, and it ruined my working day — as i’m sure it did Jukes’s.

To follow the MenoVest Challenge to the letter, you’re also meant to drink far more water than normal — ideally a full glass every hour — to mimic the increased thirst that the menopause can bring about.

You’re then supposed to avoid using the lavatory for as long as possible ‘so you feel uncomforta­ble and that you might [even] have an accident’, as the MenoVest’s creators put it. all the while, you guzzle sugary food so your soaring blood sugar levels make the hot flushes even more intense.

To add to your brain fog, you’re meant to take fewer breaks than usual — making it harder to concentrat­e — and you’re also supposed to appear ‘distracted, withdrawn or quiet in meetings’ to ‘see how [others] respond to you and how that makes you feel’.

Wear it at night, and you’ll sleep terribly. My MenoVest would wake me up at all hours, and having downed two additional pints of water before bed, i kept needing the loo. On my second day, exhausted, i woke for an ice-cold shower as instructed. To worsen my brain fog, i skipped breakfast and all fluids until 11am and drank no tea or coffee all day.

if Jukes did all that — and perhaps he did not — i can’t imagine he was much use to the nation in protecting it against enemies. no one could perform their job effectivel­y going through all that — which is, of course, the point.

The fact is that the police are in crisis, and the Met in particular has never before experience­d such a dramatic fall in its reputation. Britain’s biggest force is in special measures after a litany of failings, from the Wayne Couzens scandal to dealing adequately with the serial killer Stephen Port.

Thousands of crimes are going unreported, almost all cases of antisocial behaviour are being ignored and a backlog of online child abuse referrals is growing by the day. Meanwhile, Just Stop Oil activists have been causing mayhem for weeks on end. Officers have been pictured standing by these often privileged protesters and failing to deal with them properly, even at times offering the ecolunatic­s a refreshing drink or asking them if they ‘need anything’.

Critics insist the stunt is of a piece with other flamboyant gestures from the police, including dancing the Macarena at Pride events, painting rainbow flags on squad cars or taking the knee at Black Lives Matter protests.

needless to say, these have no effect on prosecutio­n rates, which currently stand at a record low, with fewer than 6 per cent of reported offences resulting in a charge or summons and police turning up to only half of London burglaries.

Many of us who pay the police’s salaries and generous pensions would probably prefer they spent their time catching criminals and keeping the streets safe, rather than signalling their support for one modish liberal cause or another.

Which is why Jukes donning the MenoVest could hardly have come at a less appropriat­e time.

No one disputes that men in their

‘I had to end calls and wait for the intense heat to pass’

‘ The police are in crisis — the Met in particular’

50s and 60s often have it easier than women in the workplace — and perhaps in the police more than anywhere else. The Met alone is investigat­ing no fewer than 600 domestic and sexual abuse allegation­s against its own officers.

Only yesterday, a series of sickening online exchanges between dozens of serving officers were leaked to the Press.

Male officers from Gwent Police regularly shared pornograph­ic videos and images of naked women, according to a report in the Sunday Times, while boasting about having sex with female officers on duty and hiding money from partners during divorces — which is a crime.

When my challenge ended, i took off the vest and was once again able to think, talk, write and stop sweating. i certainly felt increased empathy for women going through this difficult time in their lives.

But i had fumbled three interviews, missed an important deadline and needed to rewrite a feature. it’s just as well for everyone, i suppose, that the defence of the realm was not in my hands.

MESSAGES found on the mobile phone of a dead policeman have revealed astonishin­g racism, homophobia, misogyny, corruption and criminalit­y in his force.

Former Gwent officer Ricky Jones, who took his own life in January 2020, left behind an iPhone containing thousands of WhatsApp and Facebook messages with 41 serving and retired officers that exposes a toxic culture at the Welsh force.

The officer’s phone revealed that a chief inspector leaked informatio­n to a former colleague about an internal inquiry into an officer groping a female probatione­r, The Sunday Times reported.

Another message was from a retired officer with 30 years’ service who made a disgusting reference to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and sent an offensive image about a new royal baby.

The same officer was said to have offered to hide money from the wife of a colleague to protect his friend’s assets ahead of divorce proceeding­s.

Wiltshire Police is investigat­ing the contents of the phone and other allegation­s on behalf of Gwent Police. Former Gwent officers told the newspaper that women who made complaints were discredite­d by management and even forced out of their jobs.

One woman who reported her abusive partner – a more senior officer – was dismissed on a data protection breach and arrested at home in front of her neighbours. She was never charged.

A former probatione­r said she was propositio­ned by a sergeant who asked her to perform a sex act in the back of a van that he claimed was fitted with a mattress.

It was considered normal at the force for male officers to slap the bottoms of female colleagues as they walked past, she said, and on one occasion her phone was taped to the ceiling and male officers told her they would look at her backthat side as she retrieved it. Former chief crown prosecutor for the north-west of England, Nazir Afzal, said the revelation­s represente­d ‘industrial levels of abuse, racism and potential corruption’ and called for a public inquiry into national police culture.

‘Given how this came to light by complete chance, clearly this leaves us with a terrible thought that this is prevalent everywhere,’ he added.

The shocking claims come after a string of scandals involving misogyny, racism and homophobia that have rocked policing following Sarah Everard’s murder at the hands of protection officer Wayne Couzens. A report this month from the HM Inspectora­te of Constabula­ry into eight forces found a culture of misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour was ‘prevalent’ in all of them.

The same review found it was too easy for misogynist­ic and corrupt officers to join up and stay in uniform, and it was likely there were thousands of officers who should not be in the job. Another report, from Baroness Casey, found that hundreds of Scotland Yard officers were still serving despite being accused of sexual assault, domestic abuse and corruption.

Former Metropolit­an Police commission­er Dame Cressida Dick resigned this year in the wake of a damning report from the Independen­t Office for Police Conduct that found ‘disgracefu­l’ examples of bullying and harassment at Charing Cross police station.

Gwent Police Chief Constable Pam Kelly described the messages from members of her force as ‘abhorrent’ and promised anyone who had broken profession­al standards would be held accountabl­e.

‘Over the past three years we have worked hard to make sure that our colleagues are clear about the high standard of profession­al behaviour we, and the public, expect from them,’ she added. ‘We have also made it clear that those who do not uphold these standards have no place in Gwent Police – or policing.’

‘Industrial levels of potential corruption’

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 ?? ?? Heated H td response: The Th Met’s M t’ Matt Jukes tries the MenoVest. Below: Stephen during his menopause challenge in July
Heated H td response: The Th Met’s M t’ Matt Jukes tries the MenoVest. Below: Stephen during his menopause challenge in July
 ?? ?? Killed himself: Ricky Jones
Killed himself: Ricky Jones

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