MP Gordon Henderson says asking politicians if they would be prepared to house migrants “trivialised” the current crisis.

Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have joined thousands of people offering to take in refugees.

Their pledge comes ahead of an expected government decision to allow about 20,000 migrants fleeing the Syrian war into the UK.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the refugees would come from camps neighbouring the Middle East country, rather than areas of Europe where thousands were already seeking asylum.

Sympathy for the migrants’ plight has been growing since shocking images of a boy’s lifeless body being carried from a Turkish beach were shown.

The youngster was on an overcrowded boat filled with refugees fleeing Syria when it capsized.

Mr Henderson said: “Obviously, we’ve all been touched by some of the pictures we’ve seen on TV screens.

“I think the Prime Minister’s suggestion we take in refugees direct from camps in Syria probably strikes the right balance – but we can’t take in unlimited numbers in the way some people are suggesting we ought to.”

The MP said that in the long-term “putting money” into war-torn countries would “ensure they become more safe and economically viable and make it less attractive for people to have to come to Europe”.

He also called for a more concerted, aggressive stance against Isis, the Islamic militants running amok in Syria and Iraq.

“Military action has to be sustained, and if necessary, increased,” he said.

“I think boots on the ground are far more effective than indiscriminate bombing from aircraft.

“The West didn’t create Isis, but we have to address the problems.

“There isn’t an easy solution. If there was, it would’ve been taken already.”

It’s estimated 366,402 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.

Bob Geldof was the first high-profile name to offer personal shelter for those escaping their troubled homelands.

Mr Henderson refused to be drawn on whether he would be equally as hospitable.

“I don’t think it would be appropriate to even comment on it, it’s a spurious question,” he said.

“The only way the problem is going to be solved in the long run is dispersing migrants across the country, rather than concentrating in one particular area.”