David Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq, a Conservative MP says.
There have been continuing reports of slaughter of minority Christians and Yazidis by Islamic State (IS) extremists in the north of the country.
Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns said the government's action of airdropping supplies was "not strong enough".
The UK has spent £13m in total in aid for the displaced in Iraq but the PM has ruled out military intervention.
Estimates for the number of the Yazidi religious minority trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq range from 50,000 to 150,000.
The militant Islamist group, formerly known as Isis or Isil, has seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months and has threatened Iraqi minority groups.
Asylum offerMr Burns said he was "quite seriously overcome" by some of the images he has seen from the region.
"These are brother and sister Christians, and this is happening to them in no small part because of our record in Iraq," he said.
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End Quote Lord Dannatt Former head of the armyIn the face of a crisis of this scale, with the potential for so much human misery, this is not the moment for decision-makers to be on holiday"
"I feel very strongly that the government's response is not hard enough or strong enough.
"These people are being beheaded by people from IS, and our only response is to drop some food or water on them.
"I think the US and UK should be involved in air strikes. I am not by any means advocating a ground war but I think we should put our special forces in there."
Mr Burns also said the UK should be "answering positively" requests from the Kurds to arm them and that asylum should be offered.
British military aircraft made the first drop of UK aid in Iraq over the weekend and US planes have been carrying out air strikes against the militants.
Arming KurdsThe former head of the army, Lord Dannatt, also backed a recall of MPs, saying Britain was "watching in horror" while atrocities were carried out.
"In the face of a crisis of this scale, with the potential for so much human misery, this is not the moment for decision-makers to be on holiday.
"Parliament needs to be recalled and the West needs to face up to its responsibilities," he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
Humanitarian aid is seen here being loaded onto a Hercules C130 transport plane at RAF Brize Norton Former Tory minister Alistair Burt told BBC Radio 4's The Westminster Hour that there "may be a need to arm the Kurdish fighters rather more intensively".
"I don't think there's any need to recall Parliament unless the prime minister wants to move on from humanitarian aid," he said.
"If he does and wants support, I think Parliament should give it to him."
A Number 10 spokesman said the humanitarian situation in northern Iraq "remains deeply worrying and consequently this continues to be our priority".
"We are working to step up these deliveries in the coming days. Meanwhile, we continue to engage with the US, Kurds, Turks and other international partners on how to get those trapped on the mountain to safety.
"And we are planning to increase the number of humanitarian advisers in Irbil to provide better links to the situation on the ground.
"We continue to urge Iraqi political leaders to appoint a prime minister who can lead an inclusive government.
"This is vital to ensure that Iraqis themselves are able to co-ordinate the response across the country against Isis, uniting all Iraqi communities against these evil terrorists."
Parliament recall urged over Iraq
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