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Jeremy Paxman tore a strip off Ukip leadership hopeful Suzanne Evans last night, after she called for child refugees to be subjected to physical tests to verify their age.

The veteran broadcaster exploded: "Have you no compassion?" as Evans, who is among the leading figures bidding to replace Nigel Farage, claimed "grown men" were being brought to the UK from the Calais 'Jungle' camp.

She said the British people were "clearly angry" about accepting "men who need to shave."

She said: "We have children in this country who are languishing in children's homes who can't find foster homes who can't find adoptive parents - they are there having their lives destroyed and we are taking in grown men from the 'Jungle'.

"I think that's absolutely wrong and I think as a matter of principle - I know it's very difficult to check someone's age - but we had a vote in parliament of the Dubs agreement to bring in child refugees from the Jungle and they did not vote to bring in men who are clearly not children - who need to buy razors and shave.

"And I think the British people are really angry about that. We are a compassionate nation and we want to help kids.

"If we didn't have such uncontrolled immigration perhaps we could take more. How dare we bring in people who are really not the people in most need.'

Paxman challenged her, asking if she had no compassion and drawing a round of applause from the audience.

"Of course I have compassion," she insisted. "How dare you accuse me of not having any compassion. Just because I can see a system is being abused here."

Paxman asked her what exactly she would suggest that we do.

She said: "I suggest that we take children that we know are genuinely children from refugee camps in war-torn areas."