Senior London MP Chris Philp has told how a French warship “fired 17 warning shots” as he was giving an interview in the Channel about illegal immigration.
The Shadow Home Secretary accused the crew of the French Navy’s Flamant patrol vessel of trying to “intimidate” him as he was stressing that far more needs to be done to tackle the “small boats” crisis.
Mr Philp said the incident happened at around 10.15am French time (9.15am UK time) about two to three miles off the French coast near Cap Gris Nez, between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer.
He was clearly slightly startled by the sound of gun shots being fired mid-interview.
“Is that a warning shot towards us, I don’t know?” he exclaimed.
The Croydon South MP later told The Standard: “It felt like an attempt to intimidate us.
“They issued no warning.”
He added: “They should concentrate their efforts on stopping the wave of illegal immigration rather than shooting in the vicinity of British MPs.”
Matt Coker, the captain of the fishing boat on which Mr Philp was doing his interview, said he had “never seen anything like it before”.
He explained how firing exercises are widely broadcast in advance.
“There's been nothing announced on the VHF from what we've heard this morning. We've been out since six o'clock,” he stressed.
“It might have just been a little bit of a warning shot, maybe just trying a bit of show of force.”
A reporter from the Times, who was also on the vessel, described seeing a French navy officer standing at the stern of the ship firing a handgun into the water, aiming away from the Conservative MP.
Mr Philp said he would raise the matter with the French Ambassador in London, Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne.
He dismissed reports that the shots were a handgun training exercise by the French crew.
If that were the case, a warning would have been expected to have been issued.
A UK Government spokesperson said: "We are in contact with the French authorities to understand the full context of this incident."
Meanwhile, Andy Burnham insisted that the Government’s plans to reduce the number of “small boats” crossing the Channel are “working”.
Almost 900 migrants have crossed to the UK from France since he took over in No10 last Monday, including one “mega dinghy” carrying 165 people on Thursday.
On a visit to Derby, the Prime Minister said: “The Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood) has brought forward a very rigorous plan in relation to this, and let’s remember, the numbers can fluctuate but overall boat crossings are down, down quite significantly year on year.
“So that does suggest that the plan is working.”
Asked if he recognised that the “small boats” may represent a “threat to national security”, Mr Burnham stressed that he wanted “all relevant and necessary checks” to be completed.
He added: “It’s about getting a grip on the entire situation. I raised this repeatedly through the Makerfield by-election.
“The public wants to see control being exerted, and while we’ve made progress, there is more to do, and I recognise that completely.
“But the trend is down, and the number of people being removed is up, so the figures are pointing in a better direction. But there is much more to do.”
More than 77,000 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership from Labour’s election victory in July 2024, according to a new analysis.
Home Office figures show just over 13,000 arrivals have been recorded so far this year.
This is 45% lower than the number recorded by this time last year and down 18% on the same period in 2024.
