FINDING solutions to the deepening humanitarian disaster unfolding in Syria would test the most skilled diplomat.

The man leading Britain’s efforts to resolve the crisis has shown that he is not up to the task in hand.

The ham-fisted Foreign Secretary is so obviously floundering with a meaningful response to the horrors of Aleppo that it is time he considered his position.

The UN yesterday said horrific reports of civilian executions by regime-allied militias had been confirmed by six different sources, as scores more continue to die buried in rubble from intensive air strikes.

Make no mistake about it, Aleppo is fast turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of the like seen in Srebrenica and Rwanda.

Boris Johnson’s failure to take a lead on the issue and his repeated excuses to Parliament explaining Britain’s failure to act puts him on a par with his predecessors of the early 1990s who refused to intervene in the Balkans to combat Serbian aggression and the genocide that resulted, which massively undermined the West’s reputation as guardians of international law and human rights.

It would be foolish to suggest that there is an easy answer to Aleppo. Russia and Iran have ruthlessly exploited failure by the US and Europe to show a united front. Britain is not alone in its pitiful response but we are complicit. For Mr Johnson to say last night that he “hoped that Russia will see sense” bore all the hallmarks of a man who is out of his depth, clutching at straws.

When future generations judge our response to Aleppo they will see that at the height of the crisis instead of putting our very best person on the job we employed the one-time host of Have I Go News For You to go toe-to-toe with Putin and Assad.

They are the only ones laughing now.