Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s embattled defence secretary, reportedly shared information about the timings of airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen in a second private chat group that included his wife and brother.

Hegseth survived a scandal last month after sending the same information on the encrypted Signal app to senior administration staff in a group that mistakenly included a journalist who wrote about the blunder.

Whereas the first group was set up by Mike Waltz, the National Security Adviser, the second group was created by Hegseth himself, The New York Times reported.

• Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon inquiry puts war plans leak back in spotlight

The claim comes at a sensitive time for Hegseth amid turmoil at the Pentagon after he fired three senior aides