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Hillary Clinton has blamed her defeat in the US election on James Comey, the FBI director, who announced days before the votes were cast that he was reopening the investigation into her handling of classified information.

During a conference call with top donors on Saturday, Mrs Clinton said that Mr Comey's intervention in the election had reversed her "momentum" and energised Donald Trump's supporters.

Mr Comey's announcement, made on Oct 28 in a brief letter to members of Congress, caused the Democratic presidential nominee to tumble in the polls and revived Mr Trump's hopes of victory.

However, Mrs Clinton's campaign appeared to steady itself days after the new broke and she re-established her polling lead prior to election day.

By the time Mr Comey issued a second letter on Nov 4 clearing Mrs Clinton, it seemed she was once again destined for victory.

That victory did not materialise, leaving Mrs Clinton and her team searching for answers.

She has now concluded, according to individuals who took part in the call and have spoken to US media, that Mr Comey is to blame.