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France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.

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

French security forces have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.

French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

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

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.

Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.

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• French government backing away from commitment to stop migrant boats