Trump alleges ‘surprise ballot dumps’ in states where he was leading

US President Donald Trump alleged on Wednesday that there had been "surprise ballot dumps" in states where he had been leading Democrat Joe Biden in the race for the White House.

"Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled," Trump tweeted. "Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted."

Trump did not offer any evidence for his allegation of "ballot dumps" and there have been no reports of any irregularities.

The leads in numerous states have shifted back-and-forth between the candidates as votes are counted.

Trump, who overnight prematurely declared himself the winner of Tuesday’s election, has spent months denouncing mail-in ballots, making unsubstantiated claims that they are liable to fraud. "How come every time they count Mail-In ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction?" he tweeted on Wednesday.

The usage of mail-in ballots soared this election amid the coronavirus pandemic and the US Elections Project said a record 65.2 million Americans voted by mail.

Meanwhile, Britain on Wednesday insisted its close partnership with the United States was in safe hands whoever comes out on top of the tumultuous presidential election, while noting disagreement over the Paris climate pact.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a populist ally of President Donald Trump, refused to be drawn in parliament when grilled about the Republican’s premature claim of victory and his intention to ask the Supreme Court to halt the vote counting. But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "I’m not worried about the relationship.

"The contours of the opportunities and the risks always shift a little bit, but that needs to be set against the context of this bedrock and this wider set of interests which are so strong," he told Sky News.

Raab also downplayed differences with Democrat Joe Biden over the UK’s plans for Northern Ireland after its Brexit divorce from the European Union.

Former prime minister Theresa May noted that the election dispute coincided with Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord taking effect on Wednesday.

"We will soon know who will be the next US president. But, sadly, today also marks the US leaving the Paris accord -- the world’s foremost attempt to build consensus on climate change," she tweeted. "Whoever is elected has an immense responsibility to help tackle our planet’s greatest challenge."

Britain is due next year to convene the UN’s next climate summit, COP 26, and Johnson’s spokesman said the government was looking forward to a "successful hosting" of the multinational meeting, which has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.