A French Navy patrol boat fired shots without warning in the English Channel during a BBC interview. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Conservative MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, was being interviewed by BBC journalist Michael Keohan about small boat crossings when 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 about 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.
Philp dismissed this claim as "not credible", adding: "There were no warnings in place about live firing training exercises. It looked and sounded exactly like deliberate intimidation."
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: "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."
He said he would be raising the issue with the French ambassador.
A UK government spokesperson said: "This is a matter for the French authorities."
The French authorities said a handgun shooting exercise had taken place by the public service patrol boat Flamant off the coast of Cap de Gris-Nez. A spokesperson said: "The regulatory signals as provided for by international standards for this shooting exercise were displayed, and the safety gauge was respected. This exercise is unrelated to the presence of a British ship in the area, which was out of range of fire."