Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has claimed that shots fired by a French warship in the English Channel were an attempt to intimidate him over his coverage of the small boats crisis.
Philp said he heard 17 indistinct pops and threw himself to the floor of his vessel, believing he was under attack. A deckhand, however, described the incident as test-firing away from the boat, saying it was no big deal.
Philp insisted the French were targeting him, though crew members reported not even hearing the shots. He later complained to the French embassy about the incident.
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