Donald Trump will bear the blame if America suffers a terror attack while he continues to refuse regular intelligence briefings, a former CIA director has warned.

The president-elect is reportedly declining to sit down with members of the intelligence community more than once a week, leaving the traditional daily briefing to Mike Pence, his deputy.

"If we endure another attack and the intelligence officials had indications or information regarding that attack and the president did not want to listen to that, for whatever reason, the responsibility for that attack would fall on the president," Leon Panetta said.

The former CIA chief, who also served as defence secretary during President Barack Obama's first term, told Reuters he had "never seen a president who said, 'I don't want that stuff'".

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Mr Trump said he found the intelligence briefings repetitive and that he already understood potential threats. "You know, I'm a smart person. I don't have to be told the same things in the same words every single day for the next eight years," he said.