Stephen Hawking has broken his silence on Donald Trump’s election victory in a rallying cry for the human race to “work together” and “break down barriers”.

The multi-award winning cosmologist, a national treasure in Britain, said it would be a “terrible mistake” to ignore the populism behind the votes fir Brexit and the billionaire tycoon in the US.

The 74-year-old also claimed “we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity” with the “technology to destroy the planet”.

Prof Hawking, who gave name to Hawking radiation, suggested we may colonise 'amid the stars' in a few centuries NASA (NASA)

Prof Hawking, one of the key advancers of cosmology and of Albert Einsteirn’s general relativity theory, delivered a series of frank assessments in a 1,100-word column for The Guardian.

He writes: “Whatever we might think about the decision by the British electorate to reject membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald Trump as their next president, there is no doubt in the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders … should we, in turn, reject these votes as outpourings of crude populism … I would argue that this would be a terrible mistake.”

The University of Cambridge director, and author of the ground-breaking A Brief History of Time, has previously passed comment publicly on property magnate Mr Trump.

Prof Hawking said he failed to understand the 70-year-old New Yorker’s popularity when interviewed by ITV’s Good Morning Britain in May.

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

But this is the first time he has spoken publicly about the former The Apprentice personality since the unlikely 8 November election triumph.

Mr Trump has branded the climate change concept a "hoax" created by the Chinese, while scientists have argued that Brexit damages the sharing of ideas.

“For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans,” he said.

“Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity.

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“We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.

“Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will have established human colonies amid the stars, but right now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it.

“To do that, we need to break down, not build up, barriers within and between nations. If we are to stand a chance of doing that, the world’s leaders need to acknowledge that they have failed and are failing the many.”

The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Show all 14 1 /14 The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces EPA The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria epaselect epa05635971 Volunteers of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, carry large pieces of burned wood as they try to extinguish a fire after a bombing in Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, late 17 November 2016. According to local reports, at least six people were killed and 30 injured in several bombings mostly throughout the night. EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA EPA The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria epaselect epa05636079 A volunteer of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, looks at a burning structure after a bombing in Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, late 17 November 2016. According to local reports, at least six people were killed and 30 injured in several bombings mostly throughout the night. EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA EPA The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, extinguish fire following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces. / AFP PHOTO / Sameer Al-DoumySAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria A Syrian man searches for victims as fire spreads following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, extinguish fire following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, extinguish a fire following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Syrians run for cover following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, search for victims following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces. / AFP PHOTO / Sameer Al-DoumySAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria A Syrian man searches for victims following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces. / AFP PHOTO / Abd DoumanyABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria A member of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent searches for victims following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces. / AFP PHOTO / Abd DoumanyABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Injured Syrian men receive treatment at a makeshift hospital following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta area with more than 100,000 residents, is surrounded and regularly shelled by regime forces. / AFP PHOTO / Abd DoumanyABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria An injured Syrian man receives treatment at a makeshift hospital following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma Getty The White Helmets assist in Douma, Syria Injured Syrians receive treatment at a makeshift hospital following a reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2016. EPA

Prof Hawking began the column on a more personal and self-deprecating note, saying that with the “isolation imposed by my illness, I feel as though my ivory tower is getting taller”.

He has a rare slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (MND/ALS) and his longevity has defied science.