A politician believes British aid money is being well-spent on supporting refugees who have fled from civil war in Syria.

Braintree MP Brooks Newmark was part of a group of 50 European politicians who spent three days at a camp on the Turkish side of the Syrian border.

Mr Newmark, who was “disillusioned” when Parliament voted against military action in Syria in September, hopes an international peace conference this week will help solve the ongoing crisis, which has killed more than 100,000 people.

He said: “The refugee crisis has got a lot worse. Since the vote for no military intervention, David Cameron said we were going to take the lead in aid for refugees.

“It was worth visiting one of the refugee camps with nine other UK politicians to see what conditions are like and what more we can be doing.”

Mr Newmark visited the Nizip camp, about 12 miles from the Syrian border, earlier this month.

He said: “I was incredibly impressed with the way the Turks are handling the crisis - they have taken in close to one million refugees and they are delivering aid in a very effective way.”

“My view is, if at all possible, refugees should be kept as close to their country as long as they are in good conditions.

“We need to work as hard as possible to support the moderate majority of Syrians who want to see democracy and human rights.”