Latest US elections: shock poll puts Kamala Harris ahead in Iowa; VP urges Americans to 'keep calm' in SNL appearance

The former US ambassador to Britain has told Sky News that it is unlikely we will see a confirmed US election result on Tuesday.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday morning, Philip Reeker said it was “an incredibly tight race” and “no one can predict it with certainty”.

“I don’t expect a confirmed result on Tuesday evening,” he said.

“You remember in the 2020 election it took several days for some states to report and get called. And there were a lot of legal problems.”

He went on to say, “It may take several days or a week” before we get results.

“And then the legal challenges begin. Both parties have engaged a lawyer. They will be ready for this.

“Someone said: who will win this election? It’s the lawyers!”

When asked how a second Trump term will be different from the first, he said he will bring “that experience of four years in the White House,” with “lessons that may have been learned, may not have been learned.”

“I think the institutions in America will persevere. They will guide us through what is likely to be a tumultuous period of reflection,” he added.

“If you look back at history, we’ve been through these things before. But this will be a particularly fearful time.”

Asked whether Donald Trump was serious about imposing 20% tariffs on all imports, he said: “I think that’s something people should expect. Economists have expressed major concerns about that.”