Donald Trump accuses civil rights icon John Lewis of 'all talk and no results'

The 76-year-old Congressman was part of Martin Luther King's movement

John Lewis campaigned with Dr King, pictured, throughout the 1960s (AP)

Donald Trump has ignited fresh controversy — on the eve of Martin Luther King Day — by accusing one of the civil rights leaders who marched and struggled with him of “talk and no action”.

In a pair of tweets on Saturday morning, he said Congressman John Lewis should not have “falsely” complained about the election result.

“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart,” said Mr Trump.

“(Not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!”

Mr Trump's comments came after the 76-year-old politician and former “freedom rider” said he did not believe the New York tycoon’s victory was legitimate as a result of Russian’s attempt to interfere with the election. As a result, he said he would not be attending next week’s inauguration — the first he will have missed in three decades

“I don’t see this President-elect as a legitimate president,” Mr Lewis, a Democrat who represents Georgia’s 5th congressional district, told NBC in an interview to be broadcast in its entirety on Sunday.

“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”

Asked about forging a relationship with the incoming administration, he added: “I believe in forgiveness. I believe in trying to work with people. It's going to be hard. It’s going to be very difficult.”

Mr Lewis, who has been a member of Congress since 1987, is an elder statesman of the party and a figure of huge respect for his role in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

He took part in the march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, led by Dr King. In the bloody conflict that followed when police broke up the peaceful marchers, Mr Lewis suffered serious injuries.

Mr Lewis originally endorsed the candidacy of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 campaign but as Barack Obama’s momentum grew, the Georgia Congressman formally switched his backing.

After Mr Obama secured the party’s nomination, Mr Lewis said: “If someone had told me this would be happening now, I would have told them they were crazy, out of their mind, they didn’t know what they were talking about.... I just wish the others were around to see this day.”

Mr Lewis campaigned vigorously for Ms Clinton during the 2016 and took part in marches designed to draw attention to what he said were efforts to suppress black voter turn out.

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At one event in Charlotte, he told The Independent: “We will not give up, we will continue to press on. We can make history. We can elect Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States.”

Mr Trump has sought to reject claims from the US intelligence community that Russia sought to influence the presidential election in his favour, as part of campaign that included hacking into the computers of the two major parties. A number of emails from Ms Clinton’s senior staff were published by Wikileaks.

He has also dismissed as “fake news” that Russian intelligence had gathered compromising business and personal information on him during his visits to the country.

Some of these unverified claims were included in a briefing provided to Mr Obama, Mr Trump and senior members of Congress by US intelligence officials.

Much of the information had been gathered by a former MI6 official, Christopher Steele, who had been employed by Republican and Democratic opponents of Mr Trump. Mr Steele later worked without pay, amid concern the material about Mr Trump was not being properly probed by the FBI.