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This heartbreaking image is of a young Kurdish boy, believed to be three years old, who was washed up dead on a Turkish beach after his family's flight to freedom came to a horrific conclusion.

The boy, who was named by the Daily Mail as Aylan Kurdi, is said to have died alongside his brother and mother after a dingy they were using to cross to the Greek island of Kos overturned.

Another more distressing image showed the dark-haired toddler, wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts, lying face down on the sand on a beach not far from the resort of Bodrum.

'Humanity washed ashore'

It was soon trending on Twitter under the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (translated as humanity washed ashore).

And it led to angry calls on Prime Minister David Cameron to agree to take more Syrian refugees in the UK.

Labour leadership contender Yvette Ms Cooper said Britain must stop turning its back on refugees.

And Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones called on the Prime Minister to show some backbone.

The Greek authorities said the boy was among a group of refugees fleeing from Islamic State in Syria.

The Guardian reported that Turkish officials had said 12 people had died after two boats carrying 23 people capsized shortly after setting off from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum peninsula

Ms Cooper said: "When mothers are desperately trying to stop their babies from drowning when their boat has capsized, when people are being left to suffocate in the backs of lorries by evil gangs of traffickers and when children's bodies are being washed to shore, Britain needs to act.

(Image: Dave Charlton)

"It is heartbreaking what is happening on our continent. We cannot keep turning our backs on this. We can - and must - do more. If every area in the UK took just 10 families, we could offer sanctuary to 10,000 refugees. Let's not look back with shame at our inaction."

Tens of thousands of Syrian migrants have crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands in search of a new life in Europe.

The latest figures suggest there were 50,000 who made the perilous crossing in July alone.

'Wales is ready to play its part'

Wales is ready to play its part in resettling refugees fleeing war zones in what has been described as the greatest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War, said Carwyn Jones.

Mr Jones said: “Wales stands ready to play its full part in responding to this unfolding humanitarian tragedy, just have we always have done in the past.

“However, these are non-devolved issues and we desperately need to see some leadership from the UK Government on the matter.

“This is not part of some diplomatic chess match – we are talking about human suffering on a massive scale. Sadly, this Tory Government has once again abandoned its international responsibilities.

“They urgently need to rediscover some backbone and their moral compass. Backing Labour’s call to accept 10,000 refugees would be a good start and I offer my full support to this approach.”

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'The refugee council is irresponsible'

Mr Jones’ intervention came as Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies provoked a serious political row with comments he made about the migration crisis on BBC Radio Wales’ Morning Call programme.

He took issue with Anna Nicholl, chair of the Welsh Refugee Council, who argued that the UK should take far more refugees than it has done so far.

Mr Davies said: “What the Refugee Council is suggesting is completely irresponsible.

"Apart from anything else, the reason people are risking their lives and losing their lives on lorries and on boats is because they know once they get to the UK or to Germany, organisations like the Refugee Council will enable them to stay.

"So they’re risking their lives to come here because they see something at the other end.”

The MP claimed there were “millions and millions of people” who would like to come to the UK and northern Europe: 30 million from Iraq, 13 million from Afghanistan, around 20 million in Syria, six million in Eritrea.

He said: “The country with the biggest number of asylum seekers making claims is Pakistan – there are 180 million people there. They may not all want to come, but a lot of them would.

“We shouldn’t be encouraging them to risk their lives and we should also be honest and say we can’t take everyone. The system is already breaking down in Greece and in Hungary at the moment. In northern Europe, even wealthier countries like Britain and Germany can’t afford to look after millions and millions of migrants who want to come here.”

'This is an economic decision'

He claimed they were not fleeing war: “There are wars going on in these countries.

"There are refugee camps looking after people throughout Syria and the Middle East. We can provide people with safe refuge. So those people who are in Hungary at the moment are taking decisions that they’d rather be in Germany, and the people in Calais are taking an economic decision that they want to be in the UK.

"There are no wars in Calais and there are no wars in central Budapest.”

Ms Nicholl responded: “I think the fundamental point here is that there are wars going on.

“That is the reason why people are being displaced from their homes. 220,000 people have been killed in Syria during the civil war – I think half of those have been civilians. Not just on a European scale, but internationally we have to look at what is a fair way that people have protection from what is a humanitarian disaster. The UK needs to stand up and show some moral leadership, but also show it’s an international player and willing to play its role within what is a much wider problem.”

Addressing Ms Nicholl, Mr Davies said: “The UK is providing funding for refugee camps, so we are already showing leadership, we are already doing our bit...I am scared of what’s going to happen if millions and millions of people decide to come because people like you have encouraged them – scared for those who are going to lose their lives in the Mediterranean and in the backs of lorries because you’ve encouraged them. I think your attitude is completely irresponsible and frankly you’ve got blood on your hands.”

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Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon, Hywel Williams rounded on Mr Davies’ comments, saying his suggestion that Ms Nicholl had blood on her hands was “a senseless accusation”. Mr Williams applauded Ms Nicholl’s stance in calling for the UK to accept more refugees, and said that the Westminster government was failing to fully play its part in responding to this humanitarian crisis.

Mr Williams said: ““Far from having ‘blood on her hands’ as Mr Davies’ appalling comments suggested, Ms Nicholl is rightly urging the UK Government to fully play its part in responding to the consequences of the conflict in Syria -– something which it has failed to do to date.”