Donald Trump Jr's post no longer features the Skittles graphic. BBC NEWS

In its place, is a message saying it has been removed following a "report from the copyright holder".

The image included a photo of the multi-coloured sweets taken by a UK-based man, who is himself a refugee.

Donald Trump Jr's post caused a furore when it was published last week, and was Twitter's highest trending item.

The graphic was based on an earlier image-less tweet by the radio talk-show host Joe Walsh.

He had alluded to the idea that some refugees posed a threat, likening this to a situation in which a person was presented with a bowl of Skittles, some of which were poisonous.

"Would you take a handful?" Trump Jr's graphic asked. "That's our Syrian refugee problem."

Following the post, Guildford-based David Kittos revealed the graphic had used an image taken from his Flickr account without his permission, and filed a complaint.