Brit couple under fire from Russian warship claim MoD is trying to 'shut our story down'

Brit couple under fire from Russian warship claim MoD is trying to 'shut our story down' Jane Kelvey, 71, and her husband Alan, 70, have accused the Ministry of Defence of trying to 'close down' their story after a Russian warship fired warning shots near their yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday A British couple whose yacht faced warning shots from a Russian warship in the English Channel have accused the Ministry of Defence of trying to "close down" their story. Jane Kelvey, 68, and her husband Alan, 70, were on board their 40ft British-flagged yacht Bright Future when warning shots were fired near them by sailors on the frigate Admiral Grigorovich at about 11.40am on Tuesday. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said its assessment is that the shots were intended as a warning after the yacht came too close to the frigate and that attempts were made by the warship’s crew to contact the Kelveys by radio. The Prime Minister described the incident as "reckless" but not "sinister". But Mr Kelvey has disputed this version of events. He told The Telegraph on Wednesday: "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." Mr Kelvey added: "They’re trying to close the story down now, saying that it was foggy and they were shooting flares up. It’s rubbish." He said he and his wife saw no flares and denied there was any problem with visibility, saying both the yacht and the Russian vessel could see each other "clearly". Asked why he thought the MoD was seeking to downplay the incident, he said: "It’s inflammatory, isn’t it?" The couple had reportedly set off from Lymington, Hampshire, at 4am on Tuesday and were sailing to Cherbourg in France when the shots were fired about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters. The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed the yacht was following a "dangerous course" and said the Admiral Grigorovich had made "several attempts" to contact them by firing flares and sound signals at the vessel. It said that when this failed, the frigate fired warning shots "in strict accordance" with shipping regulations. The incident comes amid growing tensions between Britain and Russia following the seizure of the shadow fleet oil tanker Smyrtos on Sunday. The Admiral Grigorovich, which has previously escorted sanctioned vessels through the Channel, was being monitored by the patrol ship HMS Mersey at the time of the incident. Speaking to GB News at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said the incident "shouldn’t have happened". He said: "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." But he added: "The incident in the Channel… [the] MoD assessment is that it was actually a drifting warship, rather than anything more sinister." Asked about the couple’s claim that the MoD was attempting to close the story down, a Downing Street spokeswoman pointed to the department’s assessment that it was an "isolated event". She added: "But as we have shown, we are willing to stand up to Russia where it’s in our interest to do so, as we did with the interception of a Russian shadow fleet vessel over the weekend."