The Home Office has been accused of ignoring or downplaying evidence of torture from refugees.

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture claims that officials often make "unsubstantiated, sometimes baseless assumptions" before dismissing claims.

As a result, legitimate asylum seekers are being returned to their countries, where they would experience more violence, the charity added.

In some cases, incidents of women being raped in prison was dismissed as "indiscipline on the part of security guards".

"Our research has shown that the Home Office caseworkers' analysis of torture testimony was consistently weak," said author of the report Ellie Smith.

"That was compounded by the frequency with which they made unsubstantiated, often baseless, assumptions and surmises that in turn led them to conclude that the applicant's account lacked credibility in its entirety, despite medical evidence corroborating a history of torture."

The report, entitled "Right First Time", comes just 10 days after Amnesty International accused officials of a "staggering" lack of knowledge regarding human rights abuses.

The organisation highlighted the case of an Algerian woman who claimed to have been raped and tortured but was told that these crimes were not evidence of persecution.