Starmer condemns 'reckless' Russian warship for firing warning shots at pensioners on yacht in the Channel

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 09:01, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 09:04, 17 June 2026 Keir Starmer has condemned a Russian warship 'recklessly' firing warning shots at pensioners on a yacht in the Channel. The PM said the dramatic incident south of the Isle of Wight yesterday morning 'shouldn't have happened'.  But he also tried to defuse the situation by saying the Ministry of Defence believed the heavily-armed frigate was 'drifting' rather than behaving in a 'more sinister' fashion.  Holidaymakers Jane and Alan Kelvey, aged 68 and 70 respectively, were sailing Bright Future from Lymington to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin when they spotted the Admiral Grigorovich looming 500 metres away. As they sailed closer, the retired couple said they heard five blasts on the horn from the Russian frigate - which has previously been used to escort vessels from Moscow's 'shadow fleet' near UK waters. The keen yachters from Iver, Buckinghamshire, said they 'immediately turned two degrees to port' as a signal they were changing course. Russia's defence ministry has accused the yacht's captain of 'following a dangerous course' prompting the gunfire. Pictured: RFN Admiral Grigorovich (foreground) monitored by RFA Tideforce Keir Starmer said the dramatic incident south of the Isle of Wight yesterday morning 'shouldn't have happened' Jane Kelvey, 68 and her husband Alan, 70, insist they did nothing wrong - and have blasted the incident as 'unnecessary' But they then heard another five blasts coming from the warship - followed seconds later by gunfire. Russia's defence ministry has since accused the yacht's captain of 'following a dangerous course', adding that it had come a mere 150m (492ft) away from the vessel. But the British couple insisted they were 'blameless' and the frigate had not tried to contact them by radio. Sir Keir, who is in France for the G7 summit, told GB News: 'What happened in the Channel, obviously deeply concerning, and obviously feel for the couple on the yacht. It looks from the MoD (Ministry of Defence) 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. Now, that doesn't take away from the fact that clearly Russia is aggressive across Europe.' He added: 'We've got to be on our guard, but the incident in the Channel, as I say MoD assessment is that it was actually a drifting warship, rather than anything more sinister.' The owners of the yacht (both pictured) said the Russian vessel fired up to five gunshots The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.