Angela Merkel and other leading German politicians have criticised the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for taking a “disgusting” trip to Syria designed to prove the country is safe enough to send home migrants.

The trip has come under heavy scrutiny as the AfD members met wit officials close to President Bashar al-Assad as Syria continues its bombardment of rebel-held Eastern Ghouta in the suburbs of the capital Damascus.

“Whoever pays court to this regime disqualifies themselves,” Steffen Seibert, Mrs Merkel’s spokesman said on Wednesday.

The anti-immigration AfD, now Germany’s biggest opposition party, has been pushing to declare Syria a safe country, and in November proposed to send back half a million Syrian refugees currently living in Germany.

AfD members hope the fact-finding mission will boost their efforts, saying in a statement that they want to get “an understanding” of the humanitarian situation on the ground. The party also criticised the German media, claiming it “does not offer a trustworthy way" of assessing what is going on.