DONALD TRUMP sacked hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton today, claiming that he “disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions.”

It follows reports of a split in the US administration over secret plans to invite the Taliban for peace talks at Camp David.

Mr Trump scrapped the discussions, which would also have involved Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, after a US soldier was killed during a Kabul bomb attack over the weekend.

The US president said on Twitter: “I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House.

“I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions,” he added, although did not specify which of them he opposed.

Mr Bolton insisted that he had offered to resign on Monday night and Mr Trump had said: “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

It was unclear what was behind the surprise dismissal when the Star went to press, although it is known that Mr Bolton opposed peace talks with the Taliban.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told reporters: “[The president] didn't like a lot of his policies, they disagree.”

Mr Trump indicated that a replacement would be appointed this week. Mr Bolton was Mr Trump’s third national security adviser after Michael Flynn and HR McMaster.