Democratic mood darkens as Biden faces new pressure

Joe Biden's campaign faced further pressure on Thursday amid reported concerns from Barack Obama about the presidential election, a darkening mood among Democrats and polls suggesting Donald Trump was pulling ahead.

Some Democrats painted a bleak picture. One senior party official told the BBC that many in the party felt Mr Biden's stepping down was "inevitable". Polling on Thursday by the BBC's US partner, CBS News, showed him five points behind Trump - the widest margin recorded this campaign.

But Mr Biden's campaign batted away reports of high-level Democratic concern as "baseless", insisting he would remain the nominee. Mr Obama was reported by the Washington Post to have privately stated Mr Biden's chances were greatly diminished. Spokespeople for the former president have declined to comment.

It followed several reports that former house speaker Nancy Pelosi and the two most senior Democrats in Congress, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, had advised Mr Biden to consider his candidacy for the good of the party. All have rejected the reports.