Donald Trump filed a $15bn (£11bn) defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and four of its journalists on Monday, according to court documents.

The US president accused the newspaper of a "decades long method of lying about your favourite president (me!), my family, business, the America First movement, MAGA, and our nation as a whole" in a social media post on Monday.

He attacked the newspaper's endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, saying it had become a "virtual 'mouthpiece' for the radical Left Democrat Party".

The lawsuit is the latest filed by Mr Trump targeting media outlets critical of the president, and a fresh attack in a multi-decade battle with the Left-leaning news outlet.

In July he filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, its media mogul owner, after the newspaper published a story reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier.

Mr Trump brought a suit against Paramount over an interview with Ms Harris on the 60 Minutes programme, claiming she had received favourable editing, which was settled for $16m.

An action he took against ABC News and its anchor George Stephanopoulos, who falsely said that Mr Trump had been found "liable for rape", was settled for $15m.

Mr Trump, who arrives in the UK on Tuesday for a state visit, referred to those settlements in his post, claiming they showed a "long-term intent and pattern of abuse, which is both unacceptable and illegal."

"The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, now!" Mr Trump wrote.

The lawsuit against the New York Times (NYT), filed in Florida, names several articles and one book written by two of the publication's journalists and published in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

It says they were "part of a decades-long pattern by the NYT of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump", according to the documents.

The suit alleges: "Defendants published such statements negligently, with knowledge of the falsity of the statements, and/or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity."

The NYT did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment early on Tuesday when contacted by the Associated Press.

The Telegraph has contacted the New York Times for comment.

Responding to his initial threat last week, a spokesman for the NYT said: "Our journalists reported the facts, provided the visual evidence and printed the president's denial. It's all there for the American people to see and to make up their own minds about.

"We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favour and stand up for journalists' First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people."

In 2023, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mr Trump against the newspaper, which focused on an alleged "insidious plot" to obtain his tax records.

He also lost a lawsuit against CNN in 2023 after they allegedly compared him to Adolf Hitler.