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French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

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

French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.

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

Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.

That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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