British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thursday condemned the assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, and said Trump was wrong for encouraging them.

At a news conference from his residence in London, Johnson said the U.S. president has "consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election and I believe that was completely wrong.”

The comments came a day after Trump supporters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault during which four people died.

Both houses of the U.S. Congress were inside conducting the normally ceremonial task of certifying electoral college votes and confirming Joe Biden as president-elect.

Before the siege on the Capitol building, Trump gave a speech to his supporters repeating numerous false claims that the election had been stolen from him and urged the crowd to go to walk to the Capitol and "make their voices heard.”

Johnson, who has generally been an ally to Trump during his term, said he "unreservedly” condemned "encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol. And all I can say is I'm very pleased that the president-elect (Joe Biden) has been properly, duly confirmed in office and that democracy has prevailed."

VOA