Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, has criticised internet companies who refuse to hand over encrypted messages sent by serious criminals in a boost to Theresa May.

Mr Gates chastised tech companies for thinking “their view is more important than the government's view” in an interview with the political website Axios.

The comments add weight to the UK Government’s argument that social media companies must provide access to messages sent by terrorists through their platforms.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, got in a public spat with the messaging service WhatsApp after it emerged the Westminster attacker posted just minutes before his assault last year.

Mr Gates told Axios: “The tech companies have to be ... careful that they're not trying to think their view is more important than the government's view, or than the government being able to function in some key areas."

Asked for examples, Mr Gates reportedly noted tech companies’ “enthusiasm about making financial transactions anonymous and invisible, and their view that even a clear mass-murdering criminal's communication should never be available to the government".

The comments from one of the most famous names in technology will be welcomed by Conservatives seeking to make social media companies more accountable.