US election 2020: Downing Street refuses to say all votes should be counted in Trump-Biden race
Boris Johnson's spokesman says the country's "electoral process should be given time to reach a conclusion".
Friday 6 November 2020 15:29, UK
Downing Street has repeatedly refused to say whether all of the votes should be counted in the US election.
Boris Johnson's spokesman declined to directly answer multiple questions on the matter during a regular briefing with journalists.
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It comes after US President Donald Trump doubled down on unsubstantiated claims his political opponents are trying to "rig" and "steal" the election.
In a White House address he promised litigation to stop this, but once again did not offer any evidence for his allegations of corruption and wide-scale ballot tampering.
Joe Biden, who could be confirmed as president-elect today, has urged Americans to "stay calm" because "the process is working".
His team hit back at Mr Trump's intervention, saying it was "desperate, baseless and a sure sign he's losing".
Asked if the UK wanted to see all ballots counted in the US, Mr Johnson's spokesman responded by saying the country's "electoral process should be given time to reach a conclusion".
Asked again if Number 10 expected to see every vote counted, the spokesman replied that the electoral process "is a matter for the US".
He later added that Downing Street was "confident in the checks and balances" of the US electoral system.
Asked for his view on the US election, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin told Sky News: "Every vote should be counted and has to be counted.
"I admire what is happening and I have watched it with great interest over the last number of days, the organisation of the vote and the attention to detail and the affirmation by those responsible for the counts that every thing possible is being done to ensure the integrity of the vote.
"I think it is worth watching and it's very important that, as broadcasters have stressed, the need to count every vote and make every vote count."
Mr Martin said Dublin had a "very strong and enduring relationship" with Washington, which would continue regardless of who was elected.
"It's a very close call and trends are emerging in a certain direction but we are looking forward to continuing that relationship with the newly elected president," he added.