Keir Starmer says Russian warship 'reckless' but not 'sinister' for firing shots at pensioners

A Russian warship was "reckless" to fire at a British yacht steered by pensioners in the English Channel, Sir Keir Starmer has told GB News.

However, the Prime Minister insisted the shots were fired from "a drifting warship rather than anything more sinister".

The 40ft British-flagged vessel called Bright Future, owned by Jane and Alan Kelvey, reported on Tuesday morning the Admiral Grigorovich, a 409ft-long Russian frigate, had fired four or five shots as they attempted to sail past, triggering a diplomatic incident.

The couple told the People's Channel the Russians made no contact with them over radio and that they did not fire any flares, despite the Russians claiming to in a statement where they said they acted in "strict accordance" with international regulations.

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Speaking to Britain's News Channel at the G7 summit in Evian in the French Alps, Sir Keir said: "What happened in the Channel is obviously deeply concerning, and I obviously feel for the couple on the yacht.

"It looks from the MoD assessment as if it was a drifting warship that fired a warning shot.

"That's the assessment; clearly that shouldn't have happened.

"I think it's reckless, but it does look as if the MoD assessment is it was drifting, and that's what it is."

Sir Keir added: "Now, that doesn't take away from the fact that clearly Russia is aggressive across Europe.

"We're seeing the Ukraine war now in its fifth year, clear Russian aggression, and we are seeing state-backed attacks across Europe.

"We were discussing it here at the G7 yesterday, so we've got to be on our guard, but the incident in the Channel [according to the] MoD assessment is that it was actually a drifting warship, rather than anything more sinister."

On Monday, two Ukrainian-born men, Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted at the Old Bailey.

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They were found guilty of conspiring to commit arson over a string of attacks targeting the Prime Minister's house and a car he used to own.

Asked if the Kremlin was behind the firebombing of his house, he said: "We've had information about what was behind the arson attacks on our house."

Asked again if the Russian state were involved, he said: "Look, that's for others to go into.

"Clearly, my primary concern was the safety and well being of my family.

"And I just want to say thank you to all those that ensured that justice was done in the case where there was a verdict earlier this week."

Sir Keir added the attack meant his family had "clearly being impacted and affected", adding: "I rather not go into details."

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