Jason Arday, ex-Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row, found dead

Jason Arday, who became Cambridge University's youngest-ever Black professor in 2023, faced a wave of media scrutiny beginning in late July after researcher Nathan Cofnas - a self-described 'race realist' previously terminated from a Cambridge post over his views on race - alleged plagiarism in Arday's PhD thesis and questioned some of his stated achievements. Arday, who has autism and did not speak until age 11 or read and write until 18, admitted errors but denied being a 'liar,' calling the campaign against him 'racially motivated'; he resigned on 5 August, writing he had 'reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.'

Arday was found dead at an address in Battersea, south London, on 15 August, aged 41; his family said in a statement that a 'campaign of misinformation' had been too much for him. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called it 'a tragedy on so many levels,' and Cambridge's chancellor, Lord Chris Smith, later condemned what he called a 'racist feeding frenzy' around Arday, while insisting plagiarism allegations against any academic still deserve rigorous investigation; more than 90,000 people signed a petition seeking an inquiry into the media coverage, and Ghent University suspended Cofnas over the case.