Donald Trump’s Pentagon chief has ordered a halt to work to counter cyber threats from Russia.

Pete Hegseth’s instructions are part of a larger re-evaluation of all operations against Moscow, US officials said.

The order to Gen Timothy Haugh, the command chief, reflects the Trump administration’s decision to downplay threats from Russia.

Earlier in the week, Liesyl Franz, the deputy assistant secretary for international cyber space security at the department of state, highlighted China and Iran – but not Russia – as the major threat to US infrastructure.