Donald Trump has accused Barack Obama of failing to take action over Russia's alleged interference in the US election.

In a series of tweets the US President claimed his predecessor knew "far in advance" of Americans going to the polls on November 8, 2016, that there had been accusations made about "election meddling by Russia" before accusing him of doing "nothing about it".

President Trump's accusations that Mr Obama had prior knowledge of alleged Russian hacking during the US election campaign came in the wake of a Washington Post article which claimed Mr Obama had learnt of the allegations in August 2016 .

According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration is believed to have found out about the hacking allegations in August 2016, but it has been speculated officials were wary of releasing the information to the public for fear of themselves being accused of interfering.

A key congress committee is investigating allegations that Russia and Donald Trump's campaign team collaborated to influence the 2016 US election - claims the White House and Putin have repeatedly denied.