Stephen King, the horror novelist, branded the governor of Maine a "racist and bigot" on Sunday, after he described black and Hispanic people as "the enemy".

Paul LePage, the Republican governor of Maine, where Mr King resides, sparked an outcry last Wednesday after saying that "you try to identify the enemy and the enemy right now, the overwhelming majority of people coming in, are people of colour or people of Hispanic origin".

A furious Mr King, the author of more than 50 novels, furiously responded to the remarks on Twitter, writing: "Our governor, Paul LePage, is a bigot, a homophobe, and a racist. I think that about covers it."