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French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.

"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.

This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left government.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid detection, 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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