Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleJane and Alan Kelvey have accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of attempting to downplay an incident where a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots near their yacht, Bright Future, in the English Channel. The incident took place 23 miles off the Isle of Wight on Tuesday morning, with the Russian Ministry of Defence claiming the yacht was on a 'dangerous approach' due to adverse weather conditions. The Kelveys vehemently deny being on a dangerous course, stating they made a deliberate course change after horn blasts and that no flares or radio signals were issued before the gunfire. They believe the MoD is trying to 'shut the story down' and 'water down' their account, describing the event as an 'isolated incident' and 'nautical' rather than escalatory or aggressive. The event, which was monitored by the Royal Navy's HMS Mersey, prompted Sir Keir Starmer to label it 'reckless' and the Conservatives to call it 'hugely concerning', underscoring Russia's aggressive stance. In fullMoD tried to shut our story down, say British couple on yacht that faced warning shots from Russian shipThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in