Donald Trump’s administration is facing “impending disaster” because of its failure to ditch policies designed to reduce global warming, according to a former aide who is a leading climate science denier.

Myron Ebell was in charge of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the transition from Barack Obama’s presidency to Mr Trump’s and was important enough to be granted a visit to Downing Street after Republican billionaire took office.

He used the trip to trumpet the “benefits of higher carbon dioxide levels and of [global] warming”, saying they were “completely minimised by the alarmist community” – meaning virtually all scientists.

He also confidently told reporters that the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

However Mr Trump has repeatedly delayed making a decision on Paris with leading figures in his administration, such as Defence Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State and former oil industry mogul Rex Tillerson and his influential daughter, Ivanka Trump, all in favour of remaining a signatory.

Mr Ebell, who is director of the Centre for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and chair of the Cooler Heads Coalition, appears to have become frustrated at the pace of progress towards a full-scale climate denial stance, according to a recording of remarks he made to a private meeting of the conservative Jefferson Institute in Virginia in April.

The recording, obtained by Reuters, revealed Mr Ebell believed the President had made a number of mistakes that could, according to his mindset, delay cutting red tape.

“This is an impending disaster for the Trump administration,” he told the audience.

Mr Ebell said quitting the Paris Agreement, which commits countries to trying to keep global warming as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as possible, and scrapping the EPA’s recognition that carbon dioxide ‘endangers’ public health were the “two big outstanding issues”.

“It’s the first wave of things that are necessary to turn this country around, particularly in the heartland states,” he said.

“The new president doesn’t have long before inertia sets in.”

Many might have expected Mr Ebell to welcome the appointment of Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA, given his track record of repeatedly suing the agency he know runs while he was Oklahoma’s attorney-general and anti-scientific comments such as carbon dioxide does not have a warming effect.

However Mr Ebell described Mr Pruitt as an “imperfect choice”, saying his “political ambition” might get in the way of overturning the EPA’s endangerment finding.

And Mr Trump had, apparently, been too balanced in appointing his officials.

“He’s got people on different sides and they are all fighting over who gets these jobs and nobody has the clout except the president to say, ‘Hey fix this, let’s get this done,’” Mr Ebell said.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

A spokesman for Mr Pruitt told Reuters he had been carrying out Mr Trump’s executive orders and had led “about two dozen regulatory reform actions” since he took over at the EPA.