Kamala Harris called Donald Trump to concede the election, several hours after the polls closed across the US and his victory became apparent.

The Vice President called Trump to congratulate him on his victory on Wednesday afternoon, bringing to an end the bitter contest between the politicians.

During the call, Harris discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans, a senior aide to the Vice President told NBC News.

She reportedly spent today working on her concession speech, according to two other aides, that she is set to deliver at 9pm UK time.

One aide said that before today Harris's team spent very little time working on either a concession or victory speech.

Instead, they had worked on a speech that would ask the public to be patient, expecting the election result to take longer to be known, as it happened in 2020.

The Trump campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, also spoke about the call between Trump and Harris, saying: "President Donald J. Trump and vice-president Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory. President Trump acknowledged vice-president Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country."

Trump was also congratulated by Keir Starmer on his "historic election victory" and said that "as the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise".

The British prime minister said: "From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come."

On the other hand, London mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement addressed to residents in the UK capital, saying he knew many people might be "anxious" and "fearful" about the election outcome and what it could mean for "democracy and for women's rights ... the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine" and "the future of Nato or tackling the climate crisis".

He added: "The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever - re-committing to building a world where racism and hatred is rejected, the fundamental rights of women and girls are upheld, and where we continue to tackle the crisis of climate change head on."

Khan also said, "London is - and will always be - for everyone" and "we will always be pro-women, pro-diversity, pro-climate and pro-human rights".