An Oxford University professor threatened by activists for saying transgender people 'harm the rights of women’ today revealed she needs 'two burly men' to protect her because she is 'frightened' on the way to lectures.

History Professor Selina Todd claimed she has been provided with 'routine security' after being alerted to potential threats to her own safety by her own students.

The academic, an international expert on women and the working class, said in her research that women who posed as men in the past ‘were often lesbians seeking to protect themselves, or because they want to do jobs that were only available to men’.

Two students told Professor Todd, who has been accused of being 'transphobic', that they had seen threats on 'email networks' they were part of.

Professor Selina Todd (pictured), a historian who specialises in the lives of women, said she had now been provided with 'routine security'

The academic, who said she was now being accompanied by 'two big burly guys' to her lectures, claimed complaints were made because of the teaching of her version of feminist history.

'The first complaint that was made against me was to say that I was transphobic because it would be impossible for a transgender student to be taught by me,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

Professor Todd said the university had 'investigated the threats' and decided to give 'security for all of my lectures'.

There was still a protest at her most recent undergraduate lecture, however.

She added that the history faculty received complaints on a 'daily' basis from activists calling for her to be sacked.

The academic, who said she was now being accompanied by 'two big burly guys' to her lectures, claimed complaints were made because of the teaching of her version of feminist history. Pictured: Radcliffe Camera building in Oxford city centre

Her previous research has said women who posed as men in history 'were often lesbians seeking to protect themselves, or because they want to do jobs that were only available to men'.

An Oxford University spokesman said: 'We cannot comment on individual arrangements.

'However when staff raise concerns with us, the university will always review the circumstances and offer appropriate support to ensure their safety and their freedom of expression.'