DAVID Cameron’s approach to the European refugee crisis has been “inhuman”, the leader of the Liberal Democrats said yesterday,

Visiting a refugee art project on the first day of the LibDem conference in Bournemouth, Tim Farron said the Prime Minister’s language had been “dehumanising”.

Cameron has previously referred to “a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean”.

Farron said the PM’s refusal to join EU-wide resettlement efforts was “turning our back” on our neighbours.

He also condemned the Tory plan to accept just 20,000 Syrian refugees.

He said: “It is certainly not right that over a period of five years we end up accepting as many people as Germany is taking in a weekend. Not only does that mean that we are showing an inhuman face to desperate people who deserve and need help, but we also show a completely uncollegiate face to the rest of Europe.

"If you look at what is happening in the Balkans now, that is an example... of the European Union not having a single approach."

The Tories yesterday announced plans to bring Syrian refugees to the UK more quickly to aid those affected by civil war under Bashar Assad's regime and the rise of Islamic State.

Survivors of torture and those in need of medical care will be prioritised.

Meanwhile, former business secretary Sir Vince Cable claimed “an avalanche” of Labour MPs could defect to the LibDems because Jeremy Corbyn was a “catastrophic choice” of leader.

“They’re stuck with a leader who is just totally out of touch with their own electoral base.”

A poll yesterday found three-quarters of voters don’t see Corbyn as a future PM, with 37 per cent of Labour voters less likely to support the party, and one in five considering a Tory vote.