Philp seeks answers over French navy firing drill

Chris Philp has told the BBC he plans to contact the French ambassador to seek an explanation after a French naval vessel carried out a live firing exercise close to a boat he was conducting interviews on in the English Channel.

Speaking in Dover after the incident, the shadow home secretary said: "I am planning on contacting the French ambassador by next Monday to ask why 17 rounds were fired so close to our boat."

The incident was captured on camera while the BBC was interviewing Philp about the Conservative's proposals to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel.

The French Coastguard said the vessel was conducting a "routine training exercise" and that "all procedures were followed".

In footage, the sound of what appeared to be 17 shots being fired in quick succession from the French vessel could be heard, and an image taken on board Philp's boat showed a naval officer firing a gun out to sea.

Matt Coker, the captain of the boat Philp and media were on, told the BBC he had never experienced a similar incident.

"In 28 years at sea I've never seen anything like this," he said.

"It's very unusual. I had no warnings on the VHF radio or saw any flags indicating what was about to happen."

Philp rejected the French authorities' explanation, saying: "I don't buy the line from the French that this was routine training. It felt intimidatory and like it was done to stop us following what was happening in the Channel. It felt like a warning."

The French Coastguard said the exercise was intended to "maintain high levels of operability" and that "safety measures were respected".

In a statement, it added the firing exercise "had nothing to do with a British ship in the area".

The UK government said it was in contact with the French authorities to establish the facts surrounding the incident.

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