Theresa May met President Trump at the UN in New York shortly after her speech, in which she criticised his decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement

Theresa May threatened last night to withhold tens of millions of pounds in British contributions to the United Nations as she warned of a “crisis of faith” in global bodies.

The prime minister demanded urgent reforms to the UN, characterising it as bloated, disorganised and hit by abuse scandals in a speech to world leaders at the organisation’s general assembly in New York.

She presented Britain as an outward-facing country working to uphold the global order but echoed some of President Trump’s message earlier in the week that financial contributions to the UN were now under threat.

In the 15-minute address, Mrs May attacked Russia’s behaviour on the UN security council and criticised Mr Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate deal. She