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French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.

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

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

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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