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France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.

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

Now, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.

Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.

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