A French patrol boat appeared to fire a round of gunshots in the Channel during a BBC interview with an MP.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP was being interviewed about small boat crossings by BBC journalist Michael Keohan as a French warship passed by at 09:15 BST (10:15 CET).
Noises which sounded like 17 gunshots being fired in succession were heard in the background and an officer on the boat was seen pointing a pistol at the sea.
The BBC has approached the French coastguard for comment, while the UK government said it was in contact with the French authorities to understand the full context of the incident.
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The French ship was approximately 300m away from the boat where the BBC was conducting the interview with Philip.
Keohan said: "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given, that this was the French's intention."
Philp said he believed it was an intimidation tactic or warning shots.
He said it "felt to me like an attempted intimidation to stop us covering migrant crossings".
Keohan said there were 17 gunshots.
At sea, Keohan described it as "the most unusual moment... in the quiet of the Channel" when the gunshots rung out mid-interview.
A French patrol officer at the back of the boat was seen pointing a pistol towards the sea. It is believed that is where the shots came from.
Keohan added: "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given, that this was the French's intention.
"Even now it's still not clear what the patrol boat was aiming at."
The captain of the fishing boat, Matt Coker, said he had "never seen anything like it before".
Earlier this month, a Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, carried out a live-fire artillery exercise just 46 miles (74km) south of Plymouth.
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