Chris Philp said a French patrol boat passed the boat at 09:15 BST in the English Channel and sounds like 17 gunshots were heard while he was being interviewed about small boat crossings. He said the moment felt like intimidation, and the said the vessel was about 300m away.
Chris Philp and Michael Keohan
Philp said, "it felt to me like an attempted intimidation to stop us covering migrant crossings". The interview was being conducted by Michael Keohan, who said there was no warning for the boat and added, "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given that this was the French's intention."
Keohan also said, "Even now it's still not clear what the patrol boat was aiming at." That uncertainty is central to the incident: a patrol boat can fire warning shots or use a weapon for another operational purpose, but the footage and on-air account do not establish which applied here.
French coast and the
The said the French ship was approximately 300m away from the boat where the interview was taking place on the English Channel side of the French coast. Matt Coker, who saw the scene from a fishing boat, said he had "never seen anything like it before".
The report has now moved to the next step. The said it approached the French coastguard for comment, and the UK government said it was in contact with French authorities to understand the full context of the incident.
Small boat crossings
The interview was about small boat crossings, which is why the moment drew immediate attention: it happened during live questioning, at sea, with a French patrol vessel in close range. Philp's account and Keohan's description leave two versions of the same event in play — one suggesting warning fire, the other saying the crew received no sign that the French intended to intimidate anyone.
What matters next is not another replay of the noise but whether the French side explains what the patrol boat was doing and why an officer pointed a pistol toward the sea. Until that is answered, the scene remains a live dispute about intent, not a settled account of it.
