Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to US President Donald Trump, has been called to testify before a grand jury as part of a special counsel’s probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election

The New York Times, which cited a person with direct knowledge of the matter, reported that it marked the first time Special Counsel Robert Mueller has used such a move against a member of Mr Trump’s inner circle.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment on the report.

It came as Bannon met this morning with the House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee as part of its own Russia investigation.

Bannon recently had a very public falling out with Mr Trump over comments he made to author Michael Wolff for the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

That book quotes Bannon as saying a pre-election meeting involving Trump’s eldest son Donald Jr and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was “treasonous.”

Bannon allowed Wolff, who painted a picture of an erratic and poorly informed president, substantial access to the White House during Mr Trump’s first year.

Bannon, 64, was forced out from his job advising Trump in August, and his actions since then — most notably supporting the failed Senate campaign of Alabama Republican Roy Moore, but also his comments in the Wolff book — have left him increasingly isolated in conservative circles.

Last week he was forced to step down from Breitbart News, which he had helped make a powerful conservative force, and he lost the support of the Mercer family, wealthy conservative powerbrokers.

Underscoring the break, Trump said Bannon had “lost his mind” and branded him “Sloppy Steve” via Twitter.