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French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

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

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

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past.

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

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