French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following UK pressure

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

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no 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 collected their passengers, according to official statements.

French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."

Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

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

The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister 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 witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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