British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday denounced erstwhile ally Donald Trump after the president's supporters stormed Congress in response to his incendiary rejection of the US election result.
"All my life America has stood for some very important things: an idea of freedom and an idea of democracy," the New York-born Johnson told a news conference devoted to Britain's coronavirus crisis.
"In so far as he encouraged people to storm the Capitol and in so far as the president consistently has cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong," he said.
"And I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol," the prime minister added.
"And all I can say is I'm very pleased that the president-elect (Joe Biden) has now been properly confirmed and duly confirmed in office, and that democracy has prevailed."
Johnson was the first European leader to speak to Biden after his November election victory, despite Biden's claim the populist prime minister was a "physical and emotional clone" of Trump.