Yassmin Abdel-Magied, who has called herself the most "publicly hated Muslim in Australia", says she feels betrayed by her home country and that people in Australia are happy to accept you "as long as you toe the line".

Key points: Abdel-Magied announced she was moving to London to partake in an "Aussie rite of passage"

Abdel-Magied announced she was moving to London to partake in an "Aussie rite of passage" She said it was "exhausting" to be the subject of controversy in Australia

She said it was "exhausting" to be the subject of controversy in Australia "It's funny that … freedom of speech doesn't really apply to the truth," she said

Abdel-Magied, a mechanical engineer and writer who attracted controversy after trading barbs with Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie on Q&A earlier in the year, told Buzzfeed UK she felt that freedom of speech did not apply to her in Australia.

"In a country like Australia, people are very happy to accept you as long as you toe the line," she said.

"And I had toed the line for 10 years in the public eye … and for some reason I decided that at that point that if I didn't say anything, who would?"

The former host of ABC's Australia Wide announced last week she was moving to London to partake in an "Aussie rite of passage", but has not specified her reasons for leaving.

Abdel-Magied, 26, said it was "exhausting" to be the subject of controversy in Australia.

"I feel a little bit betrayed by Australia, because it's my country and these are my country people and it's my home, and to sort of fight for your right to exist in your home country — it's exhausting," she said.

"It's funny that … freedom of speech doesn't really apply to the truth.

"For me that was my truth, but I wasn't really allowed to say it and people were very upset, so it's taught me a lot."

Yassmin Abdel-Magied has spoken out after announcing she would move to London. ( Supplied: Daniel Boud )

Abdel-Magied got into the fiery exchange with Senator Lambie about sharia law in February, after a Q&A audience member asked if it was time to define new rules surrounding migration.

The Tasmanian senator said anyone who supported sharia law should be deported from Australia, before Abdel-Magied interjected with her frustration about people talking about Islam "without knowing anything about it".

Sorry, this video has expired Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Jacqui Lambie on Q&A

She also said in her view Islam was "the most feminist religion", prompting heated discussion on social media.

A few months after her Q&A appearance, Abdel-Magied attracted criticism for a post she made on Anzac Day which read "Lest. We. Forget. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine…)".

She later deleted the post and issued an apology, but the comment sparked a severe backlash on social media and drew criticism from conservative politicians.

Abdel-Magied wrote in the Guardian last week that after Anzac Day she received death threats "on a daily basis" and that she was "now the most publicly hated Muslim in Australia".

"I've resorted to moving house, changing my phone number, deleting my social media apps," she wrote.

"The reality is the visceral nature of the fury — almost every time I share a perspective or make a statement in any forum — is more about who I am than about what is said."