The professor at the centre of a row with trans activists has said she has no desire to return to British academia because every university has “people like those at Sussex”.

       Prof Kathleen Stock, an expert in analytic philosophy, quit the University of Sussex last month after facing death threats and accusations of transphobia.

       She has since announced that she will become a founding fellow at the University of Austin, a new “anti-cancel culture” university that welcomes academics treated like “thought criminals”.

       Now Prof Stock has revealed that she has no plans to return to a British university since they all have “people like those at Sussex, who’ve got a light in their eyes, who want social justice according to a very narrow conception that does not involve employing me”.

       The scholar said that she intends to write another book and devote time to parenting, as her wife is expecting a baby girl in February.

       Prof Stock, who denies all allegations of transphobia, published a book earlier this year questioning the idea that gender identity is more “socially significant” than biological sex.

       She has previously questioned the idea that men who identify as women should have automatic access to women-only facilities such as changing rooms, or be allowed to appear on women-only shortlists or sports teams.

       Last month, a group calling itself “Anti-Terf Sussex” described Prof Stock online as “one of this wretched island’s most prominent transphobes, espousing a bastardised variation of radical feminism”.

       Terf, which stands for trans exclusionary radical feminist, is generally used as a derogatory term to describe those who believe that “identifying” as a woman is not the same as being born a woman. It can also be used to refer to people who are deemed to hold “transphobic” views.

       In the wake of the threats she faced from transgender activists, Prof Stock was advised by the police to have CCTV installed at her front door and put a marker on her phone so that if she dials 999, there is an automatic call-out to her house.

       Speaking about her recent experience at the University of Sussex, she told The Times: “It’s been personally, very, very challenging. I’ve been low. But also it’s given me a sense of purpose I didn’t have writing stuff that nobody was reading or really cares about. And I do feel I’ve made a difference to a lot of women. I feel proud of that.”

       She also said that she made up her mind to quit Sussex after the University and College Union published a statement backing the pro-transgender students.