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France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.

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

Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.

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

The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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