Supporters of Donald Trump are engaging in a "voter suppression" strategy under which pro-Clinton "African Americans and suburban mothers" are being persuaded not to vote, a campaigner told undercover Daily Telegraph reporters.

A senior figure involved in funding efforts to support the billionaire's campaign against Hillary Clinton boasted of how activists had adopted a scheme to "try to drop her turnout two or three points" in key areas of the country.

Jesse Benton, who described himself as a "consultant" to the Great America PAC, one of the leading "independent" groups financing campaign work for Mr Trump, said the strategy involved "trying to take their taste for her away".

The disclosure appears to confirm suspicions that pro-Trump campaigners have been deliberately focusing on dissuading groups of Clinton supporters from voting.