JEREMY Hunt is to visit Myanmar, formerly Burma, at the "earliest opportunity" to seek answers after a scathing United Nations report called for military leaders to be prosecuted over the mistreatment of the Rohingya Muslims, describing it for the first time as genocide.

The Foreign Secretary described the report as "deeply disturbing" and said there should "never be a hiding place for those who commit these kind of atrocities".

Investigators working for the UN's top human rights body took the unusual step of identifying by name six military leaders behind what they called deadly, systematic crimes against the ethnic minority, and who should now face prosecution.

They also sharply criticised Myanmar's de facto leader, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to use her “moral authority” to intervene to stop the attacks.

Mr Hunt took to social media to respond to the UN report, tweeting: "Deeply disturbing to read UN report on crimes against Rohingya people.

"There must be never be a hiding place for those who commit these kind of atrocities. Have decided to visit Burma to seek answers at the earliest opportunity."

The three-member "fact-finding mission" and their team, working under a mandate from the UN-backed Human Rights Council, meticulously assembled hundreds of accounts from expatriate Rohingya, as well as satellite footage and other information to assemble the report.

They detailed crimes, including gang rape, the torching of hundreds of villages, enslavement, and the killings of children; some in front of their parents.

The UN investigation was set up in March last year, nearly six months before a string of deadly rebel attacks on security and police posts set off a crackdown that drove Rohingya to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh.

It is estimated that some 10,000 people have been killed and more than 700,000 people have fled their homes in the last 12 months.

Chris Law for the SNP called on the UK Government to impose more sanctions on the Myanmar Government; at present it has an arms embargo and has also imposed a ban on the supply of equipment, which could be used for internal repression.

“The UN report confirms our worst fears about the crisis in Rakhine State and the true extent of the horrors faced by the Rohingya at the hands of the Myanmar military,” declared Mr Law, the party’s International Development spokesman.

"It is vital that the UK Government now uses its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to push for senior military figures to be investigated for genocide and crimes against humanity and to work with international partners to ensure further sanctions against Myanmar.”

Earlier this year, the Dundee West MP visited Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee camp, and has campaigned for the UK Government to end spending on training for the Myanmar military.

"With the weight of evidence now available it is crucial that the international community presses for a full investigation of war crimes and genocidal acts and ensures those responsible are referred to the International Criminal Court[ICC],” he added.

His Nationalist colleague Carol Monaghan has written to Mr Hunt also calling for those responsible for the Rohingya massacre to be brought to justice.

Describing what happened in Rakhine State as “one of the worst atrocities of the 21st Century,” the Glasgow North West MP said the ICC was the only real hope for victims to see justice.

“The UK Government, as a penholder at the UN Security Council, has the power and influence to help bring perpetrators to justice through the ICC. They must use their position to echo and back these calls,” she added.