White House welcomes America's strong relationship with Britain

Spokesman Josh Earnest was asked about his reaction to the UK election result

The White House spokesman has dodged a question about the UK election result – saying instead that America valued its strong relationship with London.

Ahead of the election there had been a series of reports of unidentified US officials raising concerns about the prospect of a Labour victory, with suggestions that an Ed Miliband government would be less willing to stand alongside Washington on issues such as tackling Isis. Britain’s already diminished defence spending, the US feared, would be further reduced.

On Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest was asked about the election result on CNN. He avoided anything controversial, saying instead that the UK was a strong ally.

He said: “We are pleased we have the strong relationship we have.”