An exiled academic wanted by police for threatening Kingston University’s former vice-chancellor claimed his bid to overturn his conviction was being stalled by a lack of funds.

A district judge issued an arrest warrant for sacked music lecturer Howard Fredrics after he failed to appear at his July 2010 trial for threatening Sir Peter Scott at a bus stop.

He had fled to his native US after claiming he and his wife Lori received death threats.

Judge Kreiman postponed sentencing until Fredrics was present in court.

However, the Hampton Wick resident was told he could not appeal against his conviction until he was sentenced, but he cannot return to the UK because of unprocessed immigration papers.

Kingston police confirmed he would be arrested at immigration if he tried to enter the country.

Fredrics said: “It is my intention to appeal any sentence, however minor it may be, as I do not accept I did anything that warranted the charge of breach of section 5 of the Public Order Act.

“Naturally, the conviction itself cannot be appealed until, and unless, sentence is imposed. So this avenue remains in a holding pattern.”

Fredrics said his solicitors told him an application could be made to be sentenced in absentia, but he did not have enough money to go down this route.

He said he could also not afford a judicial review to reclaim legal costs and resolve the issue.

The composer was convicted after allegedly haranguing Sir Peter Scott at a Kingston town centre bus stop in July 2009.

He had originally been found guilty of this offence, and of using his website to harass Sir Peter, in December 2009, but the convictions were quashed and a retrial ordered.

Judge Kreiman found him not guilty of harassment via comments posted on sirpeterscott.com on freedom of expression grounds, and this case was raised in Parliament by David Burrowes MP on July 7, 2011. But he was found guilty of the public order offence.

Despite his exile, Fredrics has also used Twitter to continue criticism of the university to his 13 followers, and tweeted a rumour its Penrhyn Road campus was on fire during August’s riots.