France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel after British demands

French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

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