Tucker Carlson to leave Fox News

One of the highest rated US TV hosts, Tucker Carlson, is leaving Fox News, the US media giant has announced.

In a statement, Fox said that the network and Mr Carlson have agreed to "part ways".

His last TV programme was Friday 21 April, the statement added. His primetime slot will now be hosted by a series of interim hosts until a permanent replacement is found.

The brief, two paragraph statement gave no reason for the decision.

The announcement comes just days after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company Dominion over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

In the lawsuit, Dominion argued that its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims its machines were rigged against Donald Trump.

The case prompted disclosures of text messages that showed Mr Carlson's private views contrasted with his on-air output.

His show, which aired in the coveted 20:00 to 21:00 EST slot, was cited repeatedly in court documents by Dominion's attorneys in their claim some of its output was defamatory.

Mr Carlson's show was the second-highest rated on US cable network TV the week between 27 March and 2 April.