Vulnerable lone refugee children in Europe have been left in danger and at risk of trafficking by the British Government, a new report has said.

Ministers have done "as little as legally possible" to help unaccompanied children who have fled war and conflict in their home nations, it says.

They have turned away from a humanitarian crisis that "would not be tolerable" to the British public if they were more aware of it, it continues.

And by failing to offer safe passage they are "unquestionably" fueling both people trafficking and smuggling, said the report's co-authors Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart and Baroness Butler-Sloss.

They had led an all-party inquiry into an inquiry trafficking and modern slavery which was dissolved when the election was called.

"The UK government has failed these children, while claiming it cares about child welfare," they said in their report.

The report says that children have been refused safe passage to the UK even when they have close relatives living in the country.

Many are now living in "intolerable" conditions and facing risks daily after the break-up of the notorious 'Jungle' camp in France, it adds.

Without hope of reaching the UK legally, a large number are turning to smugglers in the hope of building a new life.

Others are falling prey to traffickers or other criminals, it says.

Not only have ministers failed to help children - they have also indirectly boosted people traffickers by abruptly closing a scheme aimed at helping lone underage refugees, the report says.

It comes after the Government announced that the Dubs scheme, which was set up to bring unaccompanied refugees to the UK, was to close after taking in just 480 minors.

That is well below the 3,000 campaigners who lobbied for the scheme had called for.

The paper says it saw no evidence to show that continuing the programme indefinitely will act as a pull factor and encourage traffickers.

"On the contrary,the inquiry concluded that in the chaotic manner in which it was handled on the ground and then abruptly stopped, the Government's own administration of the Dubs scheme has created such a lack of trust in official pathways to safety that it feeds directly into the hands of traffickers," it says.

The Home Office said it was "completely untrue" to say the Dubs scheme was closed unexpectedly.

"We are committed to supporting vulnerable children who are caught up in conflict and danger," a spokeswoman said.

"Last year we provided 8,000 vulnerable children with refuge or other forms of leave and by 2020 we will have resettled 23,000 people from Syria, the Middle East and North Africa- half of whom will be children."

She said the Government aimed to target children in the conflict zone, thus dissuading others from making the journey to Europe.