Conservative MP shared video appearing to show a French warship in the Channel ‘firing’ shots near their vessel.
Chris Philp claims French warship fired warning shots at his boat
A French warship has been accused of firing at a boat in the English channel which had a British Member of Parliament on board.
In a post shared online the Conservative MP Chris Philp showed a video appearing to be of a warship monitoring the Channel firing in the vicinity of a boat he was on.
Mr Philp was filming with a local broadcaster, and wrote online: “On the channel today monitoring illegal migrant crossings … as I was being interviewed by the BBC just now a French warship approached close and fired 17 live rounds behind us.”
He added: “There was no notice or training exercise in place. Felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation.”
French ship ‘fires’ on MP (Image: Chris Philp)
Michael Keohan, a local BBC reporter who was with Mr Philp at the time, described the moment as “surreal”. Writing online he claimed that “the French patrol vessel came within 300m of our boat and shot down towards their stern (Back of their boat).”
He added: “Photos of the french boat appear to show a small handgun aimed towards the sea. Around 17 shots fired.”
Marine tracking data suggests the ship is a Flamant-class patrol vessel, a 54 meter long warship carrying up to 21 servicemen. The warship boats two 12.7mm machine guns and is primarily used for patrolling the French side of the Channel.
Mr Philp later spoke to the Daily Telegraph saying: “We left Dover early this morning and we were about two miles off the French coast near Cap Grinez.
“There was a French warship patrolling in the vicinity. I was on the back of the boat doing an interview with the BBC as the French warship approached.
“As it came to its closest point of approach – about 300m away – they let off 17 live rounds from the back of the boat.”
Mr Philp said the incident “felt to me it was warning shots or an attempt to intimidate”, adding: “They were not firing before they approached and nor were they firing after.
“The boat’s skipper has never seen anything like this before. There was no notice in place about live firing exercises. There was no warning over the radio or anything else.”
The MoD has been approached for comment.
