Get over the election of Donald Trump, says Boris Johnson

It's time to 'snap out of the doom and gloom', the foreign minister has said

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at Number 10 Downing Street (Reuters)

Boris Johnson has told Europe to get over the election of Donald Trump.

The Foreign Secretary, who has also said Mr Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the US showed his "stupefying ignorance", said it is time to "snap out" of the "doom and gloom" surrounding his election.

Mr Johnson spoke to Vice President-elect Mike Pence and told reporters in Serbia that "people should focus on the opportunities... and not the problems".

"I would respectfully say to my beloved European friends and colleagues that it's time that we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the result of this election and collective 'whinge-o-rama' that seems to be going on in some places," he said.

Mr Johnson said Thursday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade that "people should focus on the opportunities ... and not the problems."

Mr Johnson added that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had a "very, very good conversation" Prime Minister Theresa May earlier in the day.

He says Mr Trump has spoken of a "spectacular relationship" with the U.K. and "wants to sign a free trade deal."

Mr Johnson says Trump's election "is a great opportunity for us in the U.K. to build a better relationship with America that is of fundamental economic importance for us, but also of great importance for the stability and prosperity of the world."

The foreign minister had previously mocked Mr Trump, saying that he avoided parts of New York in case he met him.

He is the latest British politician to launch a charm offensive since Mr Trump's astonishing victory, in stark contrast to previous comments.

Mr Johnson had previously ridiculed the controversial tycoon, saying "the only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump".

Prime Minister Theresa May, who spoke to Mr Trump yesterday, has also had to skirt around her previous description of Mr Trump's Muslim ban idea as "divisive, unhelpful and wrong".

Mrs May has faced criticism from opposition politicians, who are mostly horrified at Mr Trump's election, for not following the lead of Angela Merkel.

The German chancellor pointedly offered to work with the president-elect on the basis of shared values of "democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for the dignity of human beings, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views".