France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands

French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.

French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.

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

Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.

The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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