Jason Arday death: Cambridge defends handling of plagiarism row

Cambridge University has defended its handling of Jason Arday and said he was provided with range of support before and after his resignation, The Times reports.

Prof Arday, who resigned earlier this month after a plagiarism row, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.

Prof Arday, a professor of sociology of education who became Cambridge’s youngest black professor in 2023, quit following a series of media reports alleging he plagiarised his PhD thesis – completed at Liverpool John Moores University – and other research.

Further questions were asked in the press about the truth of other claims he made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he had raised £5.5 million for charity.

An investigation at Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.

Academics and politicians have argued that Cambridge failed to take Prof Arday’s vulnerability seriously when he was appointed to a senior public-facing role in 2023, despite allegations being raised at the time. The allegations resurfaced last month and were widely reported in the press.

In a statement released to The Times, a university spokesperson said Prof Arday was given “the provision of counselling, support and advice, and ­security measures, including the installation of panic alarms and the screening of racist emails and post.”

The spokesperson added: “Our support continued in the face of intense public and media ­scrutiny and after his resignation.”

Following news of Mr Arday’s death, his family said they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”, in a statement issued through his publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

Reacting to news of his death, some MPs blamed the media for “hounding” Mr Arday, with Jeremy Corbyn saying the 41-year-old had been “turned into a pawn for vicious culture wars”.

But others, such as Conservative MP James Cleverly, said academic institutions had “serious questions to answer” for elevating Mr Arday into “positions he was clearly not qualified for”.

Cambridge’s vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said on Saturday: “My thoughts and deepest condolences are with Jason’s family and loved ones who, as they said last night, have lost a father, partner, brother, uncle and son.

“My immediate thoughts are also with colleagues and students who worked with Jason in the Faculty of Education, and at Jesus College where he was a Fellow.”