Fox News hires former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka

'Such a great feeling to be back with the anti fake news team,' says controversial ex White House deputy assistant

Mr Gorka, who regularly appeared on cable news shows to promote President Trump’s policies, was a highly divisive, controversial individual in the Trump team (Getty)

Fox News has hired one of Donald Trump’s most controversial former aides Sebastian Gorka as a national security strategist.

Mr Gorka, who was ousted from the White House in August after reportedly being forced out by new Chief of Staff John Kelly, was a Fox News contributor before he joined the Trump administration.

The London-born strategist, who has prompted controversy for his comments about Islam and white supremacy, said he was pleased to be returning to what he dubbed the “anti-fake news team”.

“Such a great feeling to be back with the anti fake news team that includes people like you Gianno Caldwell!” he wrote on Twitter.

“Sorry if I wasn't clear! I have just signed with Fox News and Fox Business to be their National Security Strategist,” he added.

The decision was first announced by Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview with Mr Gorka on his daily radio program.

"Welcome to the Fox family. You're a true patriot hero and an amazing, amazing political analyst and strategic analyst,” Hannity told Mr Gorka.

“Thank you for being with us and we're so happy for your success."

The former White House deputy assistant responded by thanking Hannity for supporting his decision to move to the channel.

He said: "You've been a great supporter, not only of myself, but of the administration and the president, and it's great to be back as part of the superb Fox family".

Fox News, who President Trump has granted 19 interviews to since entering the White House, has been criticised for its overly favourable coverage of the US president.

Representatives of Fox News, which was the most-watched cable news network in the US in October, have yet to confirm Mr Gorka’s new position.

Mr Gorka said he would not miss doing appearances on other networks and rubbished them as “the fake news industrial complex.”

“Fox doesn't generate propaganda. Those outlets do. I went on them as a deputy assistant to the president to push back on the literal propaganda they were pumping,” he told The Hill.

“Now I've got another role to play with Fox News - which is just crushing it in terms of viewership, and there's a very good reason for that. They speak truthfully about this administration, unlike everybody else."

His remarks come after several Fox News employees last week complained the channel was beginning to feel "like an extension of the Trump White House” in the wake of its recent political coverage.

A number of TV personalities and senior Fox employees were reportedly aghast by the channel’s stories on the indictment of two former Trump campaign officials. While the indictments dominated coverage on other major channels, they were downplayed by several Fox News hosts.

Instead of reporting on what the majority of news organisations deemed to be the day's biggest political news story, the conservative news outlet instead focused on hamburger emojis and allegations regarding former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In a statement, a Fox News representative said the network covered the breaking news "accurately and fairly across both news and opinion programming”.

Mr Gorka, who was closely aligned with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, left his role in the Trump administration after Mr Bannon was ousted. While Mr Gorka claimed he resigned from the position, a number of White House officials disputed his account of events.

Shortly afterwards he announced he would be joining back up with Mr Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News, at the far right publication where he himself formerly served as the national security editor.

Mr Gorka, who regularly appeared on cable news shows to promote President Trump’s policies, was a highly divisive, controversial individual in the Trump team. The former aid, who veteran intelligence professionals and diplomats viewed as an ideologue lacking real-world experience, was forced to deny allegations of neo-Nazi links after wearing a medal awarded to his father by Hungary’s Order of Vitéz.

Born in the UK to Hungarian parents, Mr Gorka lived in Hungary from 1992 to 2008 but became a naturalised American citizen in 2012.

Mr Gorka, who has been accused of having ties to the so-called “alt-right” movement, appeared on BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme in October. The BBC were fiercely criticised as many argued he should not have been given a platform after another interview where he blamed “black African crime” for shootings in America.

In response to the stream of complaints about his appearance, a spokesperson for the BBC said: “This was a robust interview, as listeners would expect on Today, where a former Trump adviser was questioned about White House policy.”