France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands

France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.

French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.

"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking 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 passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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