France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure

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

This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.

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

Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.

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

The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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