A transsexual woman who was told by Twitter she was breaking its rules on hateful conduct for tweeting that “sex and gender are not the same” has accused the social media platform of taking a “sexist, absurd and Orwellian” approach to the public debate on transgender issues.

Kristina Harrison, 53, an NHS worker from Berkshire who was born male but underwent gender reassignment surgery 21 years ago, has been a vocal critic of activists’ claims that “transwomen are women”, arguing that the two groups cannot be regarded as the same because they have different biology and backgrounds.

She accused Twitter of censorship after she was given 12 hours to delete two tweets that emphasised the difference between sex and gender or face suspension from the