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Even if all the recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were to go ahead, the result of the US election which saw Mr Trump as the victorious candidate, would be unlikely to change.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson said: “The recount is an inherent part of what ensures the integrity of elections."

Although Mrs Clinton won the national popular vote, she lost to Mr Trump in the Electoral College, the 538-person body chosen state-by-state that actually selects the president.