French Navy carries out 'shooting drill' mid interview

A French Navy patrol boat appeared to fire a round of gunshots "without warning" in the English Channel during a BBC interview with the UK shadow home secretary.

Conservative MP Chris Philp was being interviewed about small boat crossings by BBC journalist Michael Keohan as a French warship passed by at 09:15 BST (10:15 CET), about three miles from the French coast.

Keohan said there were 17 shots but "no warnings" from the boat about 300m away, which left Philp believing it was an intimidation tactic to "stop us covering migrant crossings".

The French authorities said it was part of a training exercise, unrelated to the presence of a British ship, which it said was out of range of fire.

Philp dismissed this claim as "not credible", adding: "There were no warnings in place about live firing training exercises.

"It looked and sounded exactly like deliberate intimidation."

The captain of the fishing boat which hosted the interview, Matt Coker, said he had "never seen anything like it before".

The French authorities said the boat, PSP Flamant, was not engaged in an operation to monitor migrant boats.

Keohan said there were 17 shots, adding: "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given that this was the French's intention."

Philp said he believed it was an intimidation tactic or warning shots.

He said it "felt to me like an attempted intimidation to stop us covering migrant crossings".

At sea, Keohan described it as "the most unusual moment... in the quiet of the Channel" when the gunshots rang out mid-interview.

A French patrol officer at the back of the boat was seen pointing a pistol towards the sea. It is believed that is where the shots came from.

Keohan, who was on board the vessel with a reporter from The Times, added: "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given, that this was the French's intention.

"Even now it's still not clear what the patrol boat was aiming at."

After the incident, Philp said: "It is extraordinary that the French Navy will fire live rounds to defend their waters against a visiting British politician but cannot bear to do anything about stopping illegal Channel crossings.

"If France showed people smugglers half the seriousness they showed me, the boats would stop.

"Instead, the French wave them through and pass them off to the British coastguard so it's our problem."

He said he would be raising the issue with the French ambassador.

A UK government spokesperson said: "This is a matter for the French authorities."

The French authorities said a handgun shooting exercise had taken place by the public service patrol boat Flamant off the coast of Cap de Gris-Nez.

A spokesperson said: "In order to maintain their high level of operability in the current international context, the units of the French Navy train regularly.

"Individual training of the combatant is part of the normal activity of a ship in operations.

"The regulatory signals as provided for by international standards for this shooting exercise were displayed, and the safety gauge was respected.

"This exercise is unrelated to the presence of a British ship in the area, which was out of range of fire.

"The PSP Flamant was not engaged in an operation to monitor migrant boats."

Earlier this month, a Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, carried out a live-fire artillery exercise just 46 miles (74km) south of Plymouth.

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