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The senior White House adviser Stephen Miller recently claimed the impeachment inquiry imperilling Donald Trump’s presidency was a product of the “deep state”, a conspiracy theory which holds that a permanent government of civil servants and security operatives exists to thwart the will of the people.

But according to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former 2016 campaign chair and White House strategist, a prime mover in the formation and propagation of the deep state conspiracy theory, it should not be taken seriously.

Bannon in winter. Literally. Also at the Vatican, earlier this year. Photograph: Marco Bonomo/AP

Bannon states his opinion in a new book, Deep State: Trump, the FBI and the Rule of Law by James B Stewart, which will be published on 8 October. The Guardian obtained a copy.

The “deep state conspiracy theory is for nut cases”, Bannon is quoted as saying, because “America isn’t Turkey or Egypt”.

There is a formidable government bureaucracy in the US, he adds, but “there’s nothing ‘deep’ about it. It’s right in your face.”

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