Edward Snowden has made his feelings known about Theresa May, describing the British Prime Minister as “a sort of Darth Vader in the United Kingdom”.

The exiled NSA whistleblower compared Ms May to one of film's most notorious film villains over her Investigatory Powers Bill currently undergoing legislative scrutiny.

In its earlier form, the bill proposed by the then Home Secretary would see records of internet browsing activity, correspondence and mobile phone messaging services stored by internet and phone providers for 12 months. It was blocked by the Liberal Democrats.

(Getty) (Getty Images)

The Human Rights Committee has said the bill dubbed the Snooper’s Charter is still a “significant step forward” in its newest form, but privacy concerns surrounding the bulk gathering of data are still a major issue.

The bill will mean police and intelligence bodies will be able to access metadata of those living in the UK without a warrant. Snowden has been a vocal critic of the legislation which he says “legitimises mass surveillance”, warning the public: “Your web records are not like ‘an itemised phone bill’, they're like a list of every book you've ever opened.”

Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Show all 5 1 /5 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Edward Snowden 2014: The National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been nominated by two Norwegian MPs for the Nobel Peace Prize, meaning the US contractor currently claiming asylum in Russia could be awarded the same prize accepted by President Barak Obama in 2009 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Vladimir Putin 2013: The Russian President Vladimir Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because the former KGB agent “actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet,” according to the advocacy group that nominated him, at least Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Barack Obama 2009: US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” shortly before launching military airstrikes in Libya. The irony was not lost on Mr Obama it seemed, who during a press conference joked: "[Energy Secretary Steven] Chu's the right guy to do this, he's got a Nobel Prize in physics - he actually deserved his Nobel Prize" Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Henry Kissinger 1973: Henry Kissinger was awarded the prize for his work on the Paris Peace Accords jointly with Le Duc Tho, who turned the Prize down. The American humourist Tom Lehrer later quipped that Kissinger’s award represented the “death of satire” Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Josef Stalin 1945: Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was nominated for “his efforts to end World War II”. Fellow nominee Vladimir Putin recently said there was no difference between him and Oliver Cromwell, when asked whether he would erect a statue of Stalin in Moscow

Snowden, who has lived in Moscow for the three years since he leaked thousands of classified documents about mass surveillance of citizens and fled the US, told the Guardian her surveillance bill is “an egregious violation of human rights, that goes far further than any law proposed in the western world”.

Snowden is now setting out the reasons why he believes he should be pardoned by President Obama before his presidency draws to a close. Already an unlikely prospect, it becomes increasingly improbable should Mr Obama be succeeded by Hillary Clinton and almost incomprehensible if his fate is left in the hands of Donald Trump.