Donald Trump defends Jared Kushner as White House insists he is not taking a leave of absence

Donald Trump has come to the defence of his embattled son-in-law Jared Kushner, describing him as a good man doing a “great job”.

Mr Kushner, the 36-year-old husband of Ivanka Trump, has found himself embroiled in the controversy over the Trump team’s contact with Russia, and has been reportedly asked to “lay low” until the storm passes.

On Thursday night it was reported that Mr Kushner had discussed with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, the possibility of opening up a secret “back channel” to the Kremlin, for private discussions.

The news was greeted with uproar in Washington. CNN reported that the White House was denying Mr Kushner would take a leave of absence.

Mr Trump issued a statement to The New York Times on Sunday night which, although it did not directly address the allegations, affirmed the president’s confidence in his adviser.

"Jared is doing a great job for the country,” said Mr Trump.

“I have total confidence in him. He is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programmes that will save our country billions of dollars. 

“In addition to that, and perhaps more importantly, he is a very good person."

Mr Trump's comments came after senior administration officials had moved to play down the allegations, without addressing whether or not they were true.

John Kelly, the homeland security secretary, said on a Sunday morning political chat show that it was "normal" and "acceptable" to establish back channels with foreign powers.

"Any way that you can communicate with people, particularly organisations that are maybe not particularly friendly to us, is a good thing and, again, it comes back to whatever the communication is, comes back into the government and shared across the government," he said.

HR McMaster, the national security adviser, was also dispatched to defend Mr Kushner, saying: "we have back-channel communication with a number of countries".

Mr Kushner is reported to have come under FBI scrutiny in the Russia investigation, with officials telling NBC News that investigators believe he has significant information relevant to their inquiry. He is not suspected of a crime, however, or expected to face charges.