A police union has attacked Hillary Clinton for giving Democratic Convention speaking slots to members of the Black Lives Matter movement and accused her of "excluding" the widows of fallen officers.

Mrs Clinton was seeking to draw a clear line on the issue of race between herself and Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, who has been critical of Black Lives Matter calling it "inherently racist".

The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner, black men whose deaths in police incidents ignited the movement, were invited to speak on Tuesday night ahead of Bill Clinton.

In a statement issued before the convention John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 in Philadelphia, said the union was "shocked, saddened and insulted".