French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands

France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan 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 exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.

"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."

Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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