A French Navy patrol boat has carried out a handgun shooting exercise “without warning” in the English Channel during a BBC interview with an MP.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP 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 approximately 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.

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 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 Home Office spokesperson said: “We are in contact with the French authorities to understand the full context of this incident.”

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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