The boss of Grubhub - an online food delivery service - has said his comments to employees denouncing Donald Trump’s victory have been misconstrued.

Matt Maloney, co-founder of the company, wrote to staff after the election of the 70-year-old tycoon in which he said said he rejected the “nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can”.

“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” he added. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”

The email was widely reported as having been a threat to fire staff who supported the Republican president-elect. His words resulted in an angry online reaction, with many calling for a boycott of Grubhub.

However, Mr Maloney said that was not the case.

“I did not ask anyone to resign if they voted for Trump,” he said in a blog post late on Thursday.