Rayner dismisses US VP candidate’s ‘Islamist UK’ claim

She added: “I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently.

“We won votes across all different communities, across the whole of the country, and we’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain and also working with our international allies.”

Mr Vance’s comments were also criticised by Exchequer Secretary James Murray.

Mr Murray told Sky News: “I don’t know what he was driving at in that comment, to be honest. I mean, in Britain, we’re very proud of our diversity.

“I’m very proud that we have a new government, I’m very proud that our Labour government is committed to national security and economic growth. I’m very clear where we are.

“I don’t really know how that comment fits in.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has spent recent months consciously seeking to forge strong relations with Donald Trump’s allies, among them Mr Vance.

Mr Lammy met Mr Vance alongside several Trump allies during a goodwill mission to the US in May, describing him as his “friend”.

In a speech at the right-leaning Hudson Institute in Washington in May, Mr Lammy said Mr Vance was “right to say we in Europe have a problem that we need to fix with higher defence expenditure”.

He also said Mr Trump has been “often misunderstood” when it comes to Nato, that he “gets the agenda that drives America First”, and that he would find “common cause” with a Trump administration.

But Mr Vance’s selection could pose a challenge for the new Labour government if Mr Trump returns to the White House.

Former president Mr Trump has opted for one of the most isolationist members of the Republican Party.

The former Trump-critic, now Trump-evangelist, opposes aiding Ukraine – while Sir Keir Starmer has committed to spending £3bn on aid for Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.

Mr Vance has also criticised Europe’s overdependence on the US in foreign policy – potentially straining US-UK relations.

Regardless of Mr Vance’s recent intervention, Labour believes their diplomacy with Mr Trump’s team is beginning to bear fruit.

Labour sources point to Sir Keir’s conversation with the ex-president on Sunday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt – the first time the pair had spoken.

Andrew Bowie, the shadow veterans minister, said he “absolutely” disagreed with the claim that Labour was creating an “Islamist country”.

He told Times Radio: “I disagree with the Labour Party fundamentally on many issues, but I do not agree with that view, quite frankly.

“I think it’s actually quite offensive, frankly, to my colleagues in the Labour Party.”