Banksy says Union Jack stab vest worn by Stormzy at Glastonbury can stop a .45 calibre bullet

Elusive artist Banksy has claimed the Union Jack stab vest he designed for Stormzy’s Glastonbury headline act can stop a .45 calibre bullet - but is not machine washable.

The artist confirmed to his followers on Instagram in June that he was the person behind the vest, a political statement on knife crime and police cuts in the UK.

In his latest post on Wednesday to his 6.3 million followers he posted a picture said: “Who knew moving into gents tailoring could be this much fun?

"A vest that’s capable of stopping bullets up to .45 calibre. And yet it’s not machine washable.”

It accompanied a video of Stormzy, the first black British solo artist to headline the Pyramid stage, getting dressed in the vest and walking out on stage.

View this post on Instagram

. I made a customised stab-proof vest and thought - who could possibly wear this? Stormzy at Glastonbury.

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Jun 29, 2019 at 6:41am PDT

Stormzy is shown looking down at the vest before saying: "It's unfathomable. I need to get out there now."

He then says: "What was I gunna wear?"

He said on Twitter: "Absolutely f****** speechless."

Banksy wrote: “I made a customised stab-proof vest and thought – who could possibly wear this? Stormzy at Glastonbury.”