Dame Vivienne hit out at both of the US presidential candidates

World renowned designer Dame Vivienne Westwood branded US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as "evil" and a "war mongerer" as she gave a pessimistic view of global politics.

In a CNBC interview with Tania Bryer, which will air at 10pm on Thursday, she said neither Mrs Clinton nor Donald Trump in the White House would represent a positive change for America.

The British businesswoman, 75, said: " To me, Hillary's evil, and I think she's a war mongerer. I don't expect the world to change with Hillary Clinton. I'm not pro-Trump.

"(I) would not vote for either of them ... If there's a Green person I would vote for the Green person. I wouldn't even pick Barack Obama over them, either."

Her feelings for UK Prime Minister Theresa May were not much warmer as she accused her of being no different from her predecessors in upholding non-environmentally friendly policies.

Dame Vivienne said: " She apparently wants to try to help people - she won't be able to, unless she starts to attack the money system, and first of all you need to bring in a green economy.

"If you want to be the same as everybody who came before you - David Cameron, Tony Blair - you're all the same ... what you've all got in common is you are all applying this terrible system which is not only making everybody poor, but even dying from the fumes in the air.

"All kinds of terrible - war, everything is caused by this system."

But she remained hopeful that a chance to talk to Mrs May would be enough to encourage her to make positive changes, adding: "What I want to tell Theresa May is, 'you could be the most wonderful woman in the world, you could be the most important person that ever trod on this planet. Because if you wanted you could turn it around'."

A fierce environmental campaigner, Dame Vivienne added that everyone needs to pitch in to make the world a better and greener place.

"We've got to have a green economy and a green economy is a fair economy," she said.

"We live in a myth - people believe that somehow the whole of evolution is done for one end result, which is us."

But she revealed that her particular brand of activism, which developed during her earlier years in the punk rock era, has changed over the years.

She said: "There are gurus who tell you all the sociology and importance of punk, but I'm afraid to me it was just a marketing opportunity.

"And I got bored with it when I realised that the punks were only interested in jumping around and spitting and having a great time."

Dame Vivienne said she had thought she would "change everything".

"But I realised that ... I wasn't going to change anything. I got lost. I got bored by it."

Dame Vivienne also opened up about her personal struggles juggling her high-profile career and political views with her family life, particularly during her relationship with designer Malcolm McLaren.

She told Bryer: "We got rid of the children temporarily.

"My youngest boy (Joseph) at three years old we sent him to boarding school. Poor little thing, I got him out soon after, I had to.

"My eldest boy (Ben), I sent him to live with his father for a bit while we managed."

PA