French warship accused of firing live rounds near Tory MP in English Channel

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp in the ChannelA senior Tory has accused France of firing “warning shots” at him while he was “monitoring illegal migrant crossings” in the English Channel.Shadow home secretary Chris Philp was speaking to the media about the small boats crisis when a warship in the background started supposedly firing “live rounds” at his boat.In a post on X, Philp wrote: “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.“There was no notice or training exercise in place. Felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation.”The Tory frontbencher was being interviewed a couple of miles off Boulogne when French warship Flamant passed.A French navy officer then fired 17 shots from a handgun, aimed away from the UK politician, according to The Times who was on the boat with Philp.The French government allegedly told British counterparts that the warship was carrying out a routine training exercise, the newspaper reported.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. There was no notice or training exercise in place. Felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation pic.twitter.com/tuDv4DOnFO— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) July 28, 2026The captain of the fishing boat told Philp that a live firing exercise is usually announced to other vessels on the English Channel – and that he had “never seen anything like it before”.Asked if it could have been an effort to “intimidate” their boat, Matt Coker said: “It’s a bit strange that as they approached us there wasn’t fire or anything and then as they went past, afterwards there wasn’t fire or anything.“They only seemed to be firing the weapons when they were right alongside us. So I find that a bit strange because we’ve got all this open sea out here.“So it sounds like it might have been an effort to intimidate us. It could well have been, it might have just been a little bit of a warning shot. Maybe just a show of force or something.”The French embassy has been contacted for comment.Philp’s criticism of the migrant crisis comes after prime minister Andy Burnham insisted that Labour’s plans to reduce small boat crossings is “working”, though there is “more to do”.Almost 900 migrants have crossed to the UK from France since Burnham got the keys to No.10 last Monday.A total of 77,183 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during Keir Starmer’s premiership while 13,007 have arrived in 2026 so far.That latter number is a 45% decrease on the stats recorded this time last year and an 18% reduction on the same period in 2024.Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.Related...Why Has Labour's One-In, One-Out Scheme With France Hit A Roadblock?Putin's Top Diplomat Accuses UK And France Of Being 'Obsessed' With 1 ThingNetanyahu Rejects Growing Pressure From UK, France And Canada Over Gaza

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Tory MP Chris Philp has accused a French warship of firing live warning shots near him as he filmed a BBC interview about small boats. A video posted on X by the shadow home secretary shows him speaking to a journalist on a fishing boat in the English Channel with a ship close behind them. Both men turn to look when pops of gunfire are heard, though they seem unsure about what is happening. Philp later posted: ‘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. ‘There was no notice or training exercise in place. Felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation.’ According to the Times, which also joined Philp on the boat, the shots were fired by a French navy officer standing on the stern of the warship who was aiming away from the MP. Make sense of the mad world of British politics Get analysis of the latest stories – including Andy Burnham's rise to Number 10 – direct to your inbox from Metro’s Senior Politics Reporter Craig Munro. Sign up here. The incident took place a few miles off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in an area that has seen many small boat crossings in recent years. Matt Coker, the captain of the fishing boat, told the Times: ‘It sounds like it might have been an effort to intimidate us. ‘It could well have been, it might have just been a little bit of a warning shot. Maybe just to show a force or something.’ Chris Philp listening to Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire) Philp later said he would be raising the incident with the French ambassador. He 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.’ The shadow home secretary was in the Channel to draw attention to small boat crossings, after a jump in numbers over the past five days. A migrant is helped out of the water in the English Channel last month (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images) According to the latest Home Office figures, just over 13,000 people have made the crossing from mainland Europe in small boats so far this year. That is the lowest total for this point in the year since 2021, and more than 10,000 below the total for this stage last year. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had ‘brought forward a very rigorous plan’ to tackle the crisis, and the statistics ‘suggest that the plan is working’. He said today: ‘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.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source