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France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

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

The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

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