British Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett: "we have a moral responsibility" to tackle the problem

He spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after returning from a fact finding mission there.

He spoke of making the message clear that "using children in this way is wholly unacceptable - we will not tolerate and we will do all we can to stop it."

Derek Fatchett is back from a fact-finding mission

"We have a responsibility because in a sense we cause the problem. It is very often men from Western European countries who are taking advantage of young children."

He acknowledged that it was difficult for British police to tackle the problem but said that Britain would share knowledge and pool information with police forces in other countries.

It is estimated that around 250,000 paedophiles a year travel to the Third World in search of child prostitutes. Thailand and the Phillipines are amongst the most favoured destinations.

Widespread poverty and lax law inforcement have meant paedophiles from the West have little problem finding children to exploit.

The law requires paedophiles to be caught in the act

"We're beginning to see a recognition throughout Western Europe that this is a problem we have to respond to," Mr Fatchett said.

Last year the government introduced legislation enabling British courts to try paedophiles who offend on trips abroad but as yet no prosecutions have beenbrought in British courts and the police are doubtful about how workable the new law is.

A conference will be held later this year to look at further measures to deal with the problem.