Boris Johnson has said Donald Trump was “completely wrong” to cast doubt on the US elections and rally people to storm Capitol Hill.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, the prime minister also hit out at the mob who targeted the Senate after the outgoing president’s rally.
Trump used a speech on Wednesday night to pledge to “never concede” and that “theft” had been involved in the outcome of the general election.
He called on crowds to march on law-makers gathering to confirm Democrat Joe Biden as the next president.
In the unprecedented violence that followed four people were killed, after the crowd smashed their way into the government building. Two pipe bombs were also found and dismantled by police.
Trump also faces being permanently banned from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after posting a video calling rioters “special people” and repeatedly claiming “this was a fraudulent election”.
Pressed on his view of Trump’s actions, Johnson issued his strongest statement on Trump yet, having previously declined to comment on the controversial Republican.
He said: “All my life America has stood for some very important things – an idea of freedom and an idea of democracy.
“As you suggest, in so far as he (president Trump) encouraged people to storm the Capitol and in so far as the president has consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that that was completely wrong.
“What president Trump has been saying about that is completely wrong and I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol.
“All I can say is that I’m very pleased that the president-elect (Joe Biden) has now been duly confirmed in office and that democracy has prevailed.”
The riots have sparked not just fresh questions for leading politicians but the actions of social media giants.
Revealing Trump had been blocked from using Facebook and Instagram “indefinitely and at least for the next two weeks”, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said: “We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
He wrote in a statement: “The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that president Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.
“His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.
“We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.”