France will start stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure

France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.

French police have infrequently acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.

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

Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left office.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.