Donald Trump has hit back at the criticism of the White House over GCHQ wiretapping claims.

The president said the White House should not be criticised for quoting a Fox News analyst who accused British intelligence of helping former president Barack Obama spy on him.

During a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the US president said that "we said nothing. All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television".

He added: "You shouldn't be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox."

He also stood firm on his unproven wiretapping allegation with a reference to 2013 reports that the US listened in on Mrs Merkel's phone calls.

Mr Trump said that when it comes to wiretapping, "at least we have something in common, perhaps".

His comments come after the Prime Minister's official spokesman said the White House has promised allegations that GCHQ spied on Donald Trump will "not be repeated".

It also follows an angry denial from Britain's intelligence agency - not normally known for confirming or denying any of its activity - that it had helped former president Barack Obama spy on Mr Trump before his election to the presidency.Speaking on Friday, Theresa May's spokesman said the government had "made clear" to the US that the "ridiculous" claims should be ignored, and had received assurances in return that they will not be repeated.

That, he added, showed the administration in Washington did not lend them any credence.

We have made clear to the (US) administration that these claims are ridiculous and that they should be ignored and we have received assurances that these allegations won't be repeated. We have a close, special relationship with the White House and that allows us to raise concerns as and when they arise as was true in this case. We have received assurances that these allegations won't be repeated and this shows the administration doesn't give the allegations any credence. Prime Minister's official spokesman

The claims were made by White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who repeated an unsubstantiated allegation from Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano.

"Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command. He didn't use the NSA, he didn't use the CIA, he didn't use the FBI and he didn't use the Department of Justice - he used GCHQ," the former New Jersey judge had told the programme.

Mr Spicer later quoted Mr Napolitano as he tried to justify the president's repeated - but equally unsubstantiated - insistence that his predecessor put Trump Tower under surveillance during the campaign.

The Chairman of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, MP Dominic Grieve, refuted the claims and said: "I should make clear the President of the United States is not able to task GCHQ to intercept an individual's communications".