French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure

French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from office.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.

The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.