Edward Snowden leaks a 'public service', claims former US attorney general Eric Holder

But he should still be prosecuted if he returns to the US, he added

National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden performed a public service by leaking details about the extent of the organisation's - and GCHQ's - surveillance activities, according to former US attorney general Eric Holder, who stepped down in 2015.

Holder believes that, while Snowden should be charged should he return to the US, his actions have helped spark a political debate about the extents of governments' powers of surveillance.

Talking to political analyst David Axelrod on CNN, he said: "Simply because we have the ability to do something, doesn't necessarily mean that we should."

He continued: "I remember sending memos to the president asking: ‘Do we really need to do this, given the way in which we are focusing on people's lives, and given the return we were getting, which was not in any way substantial?'

"So we can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in, and by the changes that we made."

However, Holder insisted that Snowden's actions were "inappropriate and illegal" and claimed that he had "harmed American interests".

He continued: "I know there were ways in which certain of our agents were put at risk, relationships with other countries were harmed, our ability to keep the American people safe was comprised.

"There were a number of redos that had to be put in place as a result of what he did, and while those things were being done we were blind in several very critical areas. So what he did was not without consequence."

Holder went on to urge Snowden to return to the US, hire lawyers, stand trial and, potentially, to cut a deal with prosecutors - even though the US government's record on whistleblowers suggests that would be a foolhardy course of action for Snowden, even when the whistleblowers go via the proper channels.

"Go to trial. Try to cut a deal. I think there has to be a consequence for what he has done, but I think when deciding on an appropriate sentence, a judge could take into account the usefulness of having had that national debate," said Holder.