No 10 has recruited an adviser who attacked women’s sport and said richer people are more intelligent, after Dominic Cummings’ call to sign up “misfits and weirdos”.

Andrew Sabisky, who calls himself a “super-forecaster”, also backed giving everyone a mind-enhancing drug – even at the cost of “a dead kid once a year” – and ridiculed the “net zero” climate change target.

Downing Street has declined to say which policy area he is working in, but confirmed he was a contractor working on specific projects rather than in the team of permanent advisers.

One source told The Times he had already made his mark, saying: “He dresses just like Dom in a scruffy jumper and jeans.

“He’s incredibly cocky and isn’t afraid of telling everyone what he thinks, however senior they are.”

Mr Sabisky, a researcher in his late 20s, has joined Boris Johnson’s administration following his chief aide’s rambling 3,000-word blogpost urging “misfits and weirdos” to help him transform government.

In one tweet, he said: “I am always straight up in saying that women’s sport is more comparable to the Paralympics than it is to men’s.”

Speaking to Schools Week in 2016, Mr Sabisky said: “Eugenics are about selecting ‘for’ good things. Intelligence is largely inherited and correlates with better outcomes: physical health, income, lower mental illness.”

In the same interview, he argued for giving all children a drug that cuts the need for sleep by two-thirds, even though it slightly increases the risk of a life-threatening condition.

Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Show all 17 1 /17 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Sajid Javid Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Rishi Sunak Promoted from Chief Secretary to the Treasury to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the dramatic resignation of Sajid Javid Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Esther McVey Sacked as housing minister AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Andrea Leadsom Sacked as business secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Alok Sharma Appointed business secretary (previously international development secretary). He has also been put in charge of the UK’s COP26 climate change summit PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Resigned as the government's most senior law officer AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Suella Braverman Appointed Attorney General and she will attend cabinet EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Theresa Villiers Sacked as environment secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: George Eustice Appointed environment, food and rural affairs secretary. He was a farming and fisheries minister Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed international development secretary (previously parliamentary under-secretary for defence) Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Julian Smith Sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Appointed Secretary of Northern Ireland Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Appointed chief secretary to the Treasury PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Oliver Dowden Appointed culture secretary, succeeding Nicky Morgan Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Skidmore Sacked as eucation minister Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Nus Ghani Sacked as transport minister Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/CC BY 3.0 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: George Freeman Sacked as transport minister Getty

He pointed to growing evidence that more hours spent in classrooms increases pupil outcomes and life chances, particularly for poorer children.

“From a societal perspective, the benefits of giving everyone modafinil once a week are probably worth a dead kid once a year,” Mr Sabisky told the magazine.

The prime minister has hailed his climate target as world-leading, but the new adviser tweeted: “Net zero is very good, but ... how? With what? Why this timeframe? Unachievable targets are worse than useless.”

Ed Davey, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, criticised the move, saying: “By allowing Dominic Cummings to hire in his own likeness, it’s hardly surprising that the prime minister’s closest advisers now have these extreme and offensive views.​

“By sanctioning Cummings’ influence of who works in Number 10 and 11, Boris Johnson is in danger of looking more like a puppet than a prime minister.”

Mr Sabisky has since defended his comment about women’s sport, saying the “context was Semenya and the need for boundary policing to protect women’s sport”.

Caster Semenya, the South African 800m Olympic champion, has faced criticism that she enjoys an unfair advantage because she is “intersex”, with higher testosterone.