A leading member of the alt-right movement has called for a 50-year freeze on immigration to the US, claiming the country needs to “take a break” in order to "become a nation again".

Speaking at a conference of white supremacist groups in Washington on Saturday, Richard Spencer, founder of the National Policy Institute think tank which sponsored the event, said the proposal was a "fundamental policy" the movement would put forward under the Trump administration.

Mr Spencer, who is said to have coined the phrase “alt-right”, told the conference: “America needs to take a break. One fundamental policy we’re going to put forward is a break on all immigration, particularly non-European immigration, for a 50 year period.”

After his words were met with a round of applause, Mr Spencer continued: “This is something that’s certainly out in front of anything Donald Trump said. He focused on illegal immigration, a wall and so on. But this is something that I think can be quite attractive and can really resonate - certainly with his voters - but I think it can resonate with all other people.”

Before introducing the proposal, the leader said the US had a “history of taking a break and forming a nation”, harking back to a similar policy brought in during the 20th century. He said: “Just as there is a history of mass immigration, certainly in recent times, there’s also a history of taking a break and forming a nation.

“The first immigration law in the United States in 1790 restricted immigration to European people. In 1924 America restricted immigration and we effectively had a net neutral, and sometimes even net negative immigration, for 40 years until 1965 when that was reversed.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in that 40 year period we saw the height of America culture, the height of American national identity, ethnic regional rivalries dissolved. You actually had the height of America as a geo-political power.

“The age of mass immigration and multiculturalism has been an age of division and fragmentation. Let’s become a nation again, we’ve lived through this experience and we can change it.”

During the conference Mr Spencer also pledged the alt-right movement was going to “change the world” and described America as a “white country designed for ourselves”. He said: “The alt-right is here, the alt-right is not going anywhere, the alt-right is going to change the world.

“America was, until this last generation, a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity. It is our creation, it is our inheritance, and it belongs to us.”

He went on to describe white people as the superior race, stating: “To be white is to be a creator, an explorer, a conqueror. We don’t exploit other groups, we don’t gain anything from their presence. They need us, and not the other way around.”

When Mr Spencer had finished his speech, several audience members reportedly had their arms outstretched in a Nazi salute, with one said to have shouted: "Heil the people" Heil victory."

The conference saw a succession of speakers lay out their visions for the future in front of an audience of around 200 people, mostly white young men.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didn’t know the air conditioner didn’t work and sweated like dogs, and they didn’t know the room was too big because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

Mr Spencer was among a number of far-right Americans whose Twitter accounts were suspended in a recent bid by the social media site to stamp out abuse following the US election, prompting him to compare the move to “corporate Stalinism”.

The alt-right movement, a loose group of people with far right ideologies who reject mainstream Conservatism, has been associated with white supremacism, Islamophobia, antifeminism and anti-Semitism. It was little known until this year, when it endorsed Mr Trump’s election campaign and he appeared to endorse the movement back.