Visitors and staff are to be banned from using personal communication devices in the West Wing presidential offices, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

“The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration.

“Therefore, starting next week, the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing,” White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said.

The statement was issued in response to questions from the White House press corps about personal use of mobile phones in the West Wing.

Ms. Sanders said that White House staff “will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices and continue working hard on behalf of the American people.”

The announcement follows a public row between President Donald Trump and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was quoted extensively for an upcoming book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by author Michael Wolff.

Mr. Wolff claims that Mr. Trump himself allowed him “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing.”

The book portrays an unprepared candidate who had not really meant to win the presidency.

Mr. Trump’s Wednesday statement blasting Mr. Bannon accused the man who was chief executive of his winning campaign of helping journalists write “phony books.”

(dpa/NAN)