Glenn Beck, the Right-wing broadcaster, has been accused of "hijacking" the legacy of Martin Luther King by staging a rally at the location of his "I have a dream speech".

Critics said Beck and his followers in the Tea Party were trying to "dishonour" King, the figurehead of America's civil rights and a hero to millions.

They ridiculed claims by the Fox News presenter that his purpose was to "reclaim the civil rights movement", which he said was an "abomination" that had been "distorted and so turned upside down".

The rally, which is broadly seen as a test of the Tea Party's strength, will take place on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where King made the historic speech in 1963 that proved to be a turning point in black Americans' struggle for civil rights and legal equality.

Beck has said that the "Restoring Honour" event was also intended to pay tribute to America's military personnel and others "who embody our nation's founding principles of integrity, truth and honour"....