Jewish groups have condemned Donald Trump for likening of the actions of today's US intelligence agencies to those of Nazi Germany.

A number of organisations and Holocaust education groups have called the President elect's reference to the Third Reich "cavalier" and "inappropriate", and demanded an apology from the incoming US leader.

Speaking during his first news conference as President-elect, the Republican dismissed the leak of a dossier allegedly containing salacious and compromising allegations against him, saying: “That’s something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do, I think it’s a disgrace that information that was false, and fake, and never happened, got released to the public.”

But Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect called his comments "a despicable insult to Holocaust survivors around the world".

He said: “The President-elect has denigrated our nation and its commitment to freedom on the eve of his inauguration. He must retract his tweet and apologize to survivors and to our entire nation.”

The incoming leader, Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt also demanded an apology.

“No one should cavalierly draw analogies to Nazi Germany, especially the next leader of the free world," he said.

“It is not only a ridiculous comparison on the merits, but it also coarsens our discourse and diminishes the horror of the Holocaust.”

The American Jewish Centre said in a tweet: "We regret Donald Trump's use of Nazi Germany regarding the media – an inappropriate comparison that diminished the horrors of that time."

Throughout his campaign, Mr Trump received continued support from neo-Nazi groups, including the American Nazi Party, although he disavowed the group after he won the election.

The incoming leader also once re-tweeted a neo-Nazi meme, which depicted his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton with a Star of David and a pile of money.