French navy fires live shots as Conservative MP crosses English Channel

The French navy fired over a dozen shots near a vessel containing a conservative member of the United Kingdom‘s Parliament on Tuesday as he was being interviewed about small boat migrant crossings in the English Channel, the MP claimed. Chris Philp, the MP for the south London district of Croydon South and the U.K.’s s

MP Chris Philp was giving an interview to the BBC at the time, on board a fishing boat.

Prominent Tory MP Chris Philp vows to raise incident with the French ambassador — but authorities on both sides of the Channel point to routine training exercise.

Shots fired in the Channel are all in a day’s work for the intrepid shadow home secretary C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre. Captain Chris ‘Hunter-Killer’ Philp had been on patrol since first light in the English Channel. While the rest of the country was still asleep, the Philpster was scanning the horizon

A TORY MP has accused the French navy of carrying out what "felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation" as he gave an interview on a boat in the Channel.

Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was giving an interview about small boat crossings, which have fallen 45% compared to last year, when several loud bangs were heard behind him

‘It felt like an attempt to intimidate us,’ says the Shadow Home Secretary

Craig Munro | Senior Politics Reporter Published July 28, 2026 1:29pm Updated July 28, 2026 3:02pm To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tory MP Chris Philp has accused a French warship of firing live warning shots near him as he filmed a BBC inte

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, claimed a French naval officer fired what ‘felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation’.

Conservative MP Chris Philp was monitoring migrant crossings in the English Channel when a French warship approached his boat and fired 17 live rounds in the vicinity, in what he described as warning shots or an attempt to intimidate.

Migrant crisis: French warship 'fires 17 warning shots' at Chris Philp as Tory MP monitors small boats crossing Channel: 'Attempt to intimidate!'  GB News

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp says the vessel fired 17 shots as he was giving a BBC interview.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the French of ‘attempted intimidation’