Mexican wall will include '˜fencing', says Trump

In his first major interview to a US broadcaster since he pipped Hilary Clinton in the race for the White House, the president-elect conceded that his planned wall could, in part, consist of fencing.

Mr Trump repeatedly promised to build a wall to keep out illegal migrants as part of his election campaign.

But speaking to US broadcaster CBS, he said in some areas, “a wall is more appropriate”, adding “there could be some fencing”.

According to media reports on the US broadcast, the Republican leader claimed that he intends to either deport or jail as many as three million undocumented migrants with criminal records.

Mr Trump, who was elected as the US’s next president as successor to Barack Obama last Tuesday, said that there were millions of gang members and drug dealers who he will target.

Other undocumented migrants will be assessed once the border was secured, he added.

Mr Trump told CBS: “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate.”

As well as appearing to instigate a change in the US’s relationship with its neighbour, Mr Trump’s top team has expressed “reservations” about British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, according to interim Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage, who has met with Mr Trump since his election victory, said some of the Republican’s core advisers were concerned about unflattering comments made by British Cabinet ministers.

The Government has remained dismissive of Mr Farage’s apparent closeness to Mr Trump, with a spokesman for Mrs May saying that No 10 “has been consistent that Mr Farage has no role” in the Government’s relationship with the incoming US administration.