A history of wild accusations on Twitter

Donald Trump has been criticised for speaking out about UK crime statistics – here are some other times he has been challenged as to the veracity of his tweets.

After a bomb partially exploded at Parsons Green in London, Mr Trump tweeted: “Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!”

The Metropolitan Police said the US President’s comments – which did not correspond with any information released by the UK authorities – were “unhelpful” and “pure speculation”.

After the London Bridge terror attack, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said people should not be alarmed by visibly increased security on the streets of the capital.

Mr Trump sparked a backlash when he tweeted: “At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed!”

A spokesman for Mr Khan said the tweet was “ill-informed” and deliberately taken out of context.

The President accused Barack Obama of having Trump Tower telephones “wire tapped” during last year’s election, a claim an Obama spokesman said was false. The Department of Justice later said in a court filing it had found no evidence to support Mr Trump’s claim.

Mr Trump faced a backlash when he tweeted: “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias – big problem!”

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla tweeted back: “It appears that Mr Trump is troubled by the fact that a growing majority of Americans did not vote for him. His unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in California and elsewhere are absurd.”