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Ex-SAS commander fat-shames Guards in Burnham-Zelensky photo op as 'unarmed Teletubbies in ill-fitting playground uniforms'

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Cite

Wolfisz, F. (2026, October 17). Ex-SAS commander fat-shames Guards in Burnham-Zelensky photo op as 'unarmed Teletubbies in ill-fitting playground uniforms'. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16216441/Ex-SAS-fat-shames-Guards-Burnham-Zelensky-teletubbies.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-17 · by Francine Wolfisz

Quick Summary

A former SAS commander criticized Irish Guards soldiers as looking like "unarmed Teletubbies" during a photo op outside Downing Street on Wednesday. The eleven soldiers, dressed in traditional red tunics and black bearskin hats, formed a guard of honor for Prime Minister Andy Burnham and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Retired lieutenant colonel Richard Williams called the photograph “a picture of decline” and said it showed "the very opposite of martial excellence." Irish Guards commanding officer Lt Col Ben Irwin-Clark responded to the criticism by urging critics to reconsider their opinions.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 17, 2026, a retired SAS lieutenant colonel named Richard Williams criticized the Irish Guards for looking like "unarmed Teletubbies" during an event at Downing Street where they formed a guard of honor for visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The criticism came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed Zelensky, and Williams argued that the soldiers' uniforms were ill-fitting and not representative of "martial excellence." He contrasted this with an older photograph from 1928 showing a more traditional appearance of the Irish Guards inspected by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Williams also suggested that the current state of the Irish Guards has made it easier for the IRGC (likely referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) to operate freely in the UK, though he did not provide specifics about this claim.

Written for “Sas Commander Criticizes Uk Guard Appearance” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Sas Commander Criticizes Uk Guard Appearance
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A reports on a specific incident where an ex-SAS commander criticized the appearance of Irish Guards during a photo opportunity with President Zelensky. Article B discusses a broader concern about soldiers getting involved in politics and does not focus on the same specific event.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 55 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Both articles discuss Prime Minister Burnham's use of Irish Guards for a photo opportunity with President Zelensky, but they focus on different aspects: Article A focuses on the criticism from a former SAS commander about the appearance of the soldiers, while Article B critiques Burnham's misuse of military personnel.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 9314 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Francine Wolfisz
46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Francine Wolfisz
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 46 articles by Francine Wolfisz →

Topics

Britain Guards Irish Guards SAS Ukraine

Subjects

SAS ORG · 5× Britain GPE · 3× Irish Guards NORP · 3× Richard Williams PERSON · 3× the Irish Guards ORG · 3× Andy Burnham PERSON · 2× Elizabeth PERSON · 2× Labour ORG · 2× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 2× Williams PERSON · 2×

Narrative

‘And then they are going to ask those citizens, to whom we are not necessarily at the front of their mind, that they too need to play a part in the defence and security of this country.’ Richard Williams, who led 22 SAS, launched a scathing attack on X and called the Irish Guards the 'very opposite of martial excellence' Williams compared today's ranks with a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother inspecting the Irish Guards at the Old Chelsea Barracks on St Patrick's Day 1928
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 Eleven soldiers, wearing their traditional scarlet red tunic and black bearskin hat, formed a guard of honour as Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. But retired lieutenant colonel Richard Williams said the resulting photograph showed 'a picture of decline' and accused the Guards of being 'pseudo soldiers used as decorations' in 'ill-fitting playground uniforms'.

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

A former SAS commander has accused Irish Guards of looking like 'unarmed Teletubbies' as they lined up outside Downing Street. asserted
they → accuse → Street
Eleven soldiers, wearing their traditional scarlet red tunic and black bearskin hat, formed a guard of honour as Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. But retired lieutenant colonel Richard Williams said the resulting photograph showed 'a picture of decline' and accused the Guards of being 'pseudo soldiers used as decorations' in 'ill-fitting playground uniforms'. asserted
photograph → wear → uniforms
In his scathing attack on X, which described the photograph as 'awful', he added: 'The very opposite of martial excellence and so far from the hard steel and war-won standards of the past. ' asserted
he → describe → past
No wonder IRGC finds it easy to roam free around the UK...' asserted
it → find → UK
In a second post, Williams, who led 22 SAS, compared the image with a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother inspecting the Irish Guards at the Old Chelsea Barracks on St Patrick's Day in 1928. asserted
who → lead → 1928
A former SAS commander has accused Irish Guards of looking like 'unarmed Teletubbies' as they lined up outside Downing Street on Wednesday Eleven soldiers, wearing their traditional scarlet red tunic and black bearskin hat, formed a guard of honour as Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed President Volodymyr Zelensky Former SAS commander Richard Williams launched a scathing attack on the physical condition of the soldiers He added the simple caption: 'The way it was...' asserted
it → accuse → caption
Irish Guards commanding officer Lt Col Ben Irwin-Clark reacted strongly to criticism of his ranks and told The Sun: 'Those of you writing negative comments about the regiment need to give your heads a wobble.' The furore comes as the head of the Army warned Britain needs to be prepared to make sacrifices to defend the country. asserted
Britain → react → country
General Sir Roly Walker said earlier this week that how the UK responds to threats will be laid out in a 'frank discussion' between political leaders and citizens. asserted
responds → say → leaders
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) was addressing 700 newly qualified troops when he offered a rare insight into plans to prepare for direct conflict. asserted
he → address → conflict
Sir Roly praised the soldiers and called on UK citizens to recognise what must be done to ensure Britain is ready for such an eventuality. asserted
Britain → praise → eventuality
He said: ‘You didn’t know this but our nation is going to need you. asserted
nation → say → you
There was a time when our nation did not want to think of a time when it would need its soldiers to fight in a war. asserted
soldiers → be → war
‘Indeed, very soon, the political leaders of this country will start to have a frank conversation with the citizens of this country about just what is going on and where the risk lies. asserted
risk → start → country
‘They are going to try and explain to our citizens that our citizens have got to consent to sacrifices to prioritise defence and security. asserted
citizens → go → defence
‘And then they are going to ask those citizens, to whom we are not necessarily at the front of their mind, that they too need to play a part in the defence and security of this country.’ Richard Williams, who led 22 SAS, launched a scathing attack on X and called the Irish Guards the 'very opposite of martial excellence' Williams compared today's ranks with a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother inspecting the Irish Guards at the Old Chelsea Barracks on St Patrick's Day 1928 asserted
Williams → go → Day
His intervention came as Labour is expected to continue investing 2.7 per cent of GDP for the remainder of the decade into the armed forces - despite calls for spending to reach 3.0 per cent by 2030. asserted
spending → come → 2030
The UK has until 2035 to meet the Nato defence spending benchmark of 3.5 per cent - which will require additional funding of around £25billion per year. asserted
which → have → year
The Mail has led calls for the armed forces to receive a spending boost as part of the paper's Don't Leave Britain Defenceless campaign. asserted
forces → lead → campaign
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting also vowed in July that he would follow his predecessor, John Healey, and quit as Defence Secretary if Labour does not increase military spending 'as a matter of principle'. asserted
Labour → vow → principle
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