A retired British couple whose yacht came under fire from a Russian warship in the English Channel have accused Labour of attempting to suppress their account of the incident.
Jane and Alan Kelvey claim authorities sought to downplay what happened when the Admiral Grigorovich, a 409ft Russian frigate, discharged warning shots towards their 40ft vessel Bright Future on Tuesday morning.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Kelvey said: “They’re trying to close the story down now, saying that it was foggy and they were shooting flares up. It’s rubbish.”
The couple allege the Ministry of Defence wanted to water down their version of events because it was considered too provocative.
Mr Kelvey directly contradicted the official narrative regarding radio communications and weather conditions, adding: “The MoD are saying they got us on the radio. Our radio, we were right next to it. It didn’t come on our radio.”
The 70-year-old dismissed suggestions that poor visibility had contributed to the encounter, maintaining that both vessels had a clear line of sight to one another.
He also rejected claims that the Russian crew had fired warning flares before resorting to gunfire.
“We didn’t see any flares at all. They normally go bang and you see them,” Mr Kelvey said, adding: “It wasn’t a problem of fog. [We could] see him clearly. He could see us clearly.”
Alan and Jane told GB News they believe the incident took place ‘because of what happened earlier this week’ in the Channel | BBC
When asked why he believed the authorities were seeking to minimise the significance of the encounter, Mr Kelvey responded: “It’s inflammatory, isn’t it?”
The retirees had departed from Lymington in Hampshire at 4am on Tuesday, bound for the French port of Cherbourg. They were approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight when the shots rang out at around 11.40am.
The incident occurred outside British territorial waters and follows the seizure of the Smyrtos, a shadow tanker transporting sanctioned Russian oil, by Royal Marines over the weekend.
Russia’s defence ministry maintained the Kelveys had been on a “dangerous course” and that the frigate had attempted contact through flares and sound signals before firing.
Keir Starmer told GB News Political Editor Chris Hope that the incident was ‘reckless’
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Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at the G7 summit in Evian, France, described the incident as “reckless” whilst stopping short of characterising it as deliberate aggression.
“I think it’s reckless, but it does look as if the MoD assessment is it was drifting, and that’s what it is,” the Prime Minister told GB News. He added that the Channel encounter appeared to involve “a drifting warship, rather than anything more sinister.”
Downing Street has indicated no further diplomatic action will be taken against Moscow.
When questioned about whether the Russian ambassador would be summoned, a spokeswoman pointed to HMS Mersey’s monitoring of the frigate and described the MoD’s assessment as treating this as an isolated event.
Louise Sandher-Jones MP, Minister for Veterans and People said she had met with the couple
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Armed forces minister Louise Sandher-Jones confirmed she had been in contact with the couple following their ordeal.
“Both her and Alan are in good spirits, and they seem to have taken it in their stride, they’re not going to be put off by the Grigorovich, which is really great to see,” she told reporters.
Mr Kelvey himself appeared remarkably unfazed by the experience, remarking that crossing the Channel alone was more frightening than being shot at.
The couple intend to press on with their sailing holiday, planning to head from Cherbourg to Guernsey before continuing down to Brittany. “We’ve been doing it for the past few years,” Mr Kelvey explained. “So now it’s peaceful holiday time.”