Tributes paid to Jason Arday after ex-Cambridge professor found dead
His family said they were "in shock" to have lost him, adding a "campaign of misinformation" had been too much.
Jason Arday, a former Cambridge professor, was found dead in Battersea, south London on Friday afternoon. His family released a statement expressing their shock and describing him as a father, partner, brother, uncle and son. Arday resigned from his position as a Cambridge professor of sociology of education last week following allegations of plagiarism and questions about his achievements.
He denied the allegations. The Cambridge University vice-chancellor, Prof Deborah Prentice, led tributes, expressing deep sorrow and sympathizing with Arday's family and friends. Education Secretary Lucy Powell expressed shock and urged people to remember the real people behind the tragedy. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan highlighted Arday's experience of unrelenting media scrutiny and a campaign of abuse.
Cambridge professor Simon Baron-Cohen shared that Arday had felt unable to leave his house due to the campaign against him. Kehinde Andrews, a friend of Arday and Professor of Black Studies, described him as "very down" after resigning and noted that he had lost weight. Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy expressed disbelief at the level of media scrutiny against an academic.
Shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverly criticized the tragic death and called for accountability from academic institutions. Arday had denied plagiarism but admitted to errors in his early work, attributing them to his autism. The controversy began when another academic, Nathan Cofnas, accused Arday of plagiarism, leading to a series of investigations. Arday resigned citing the overwhelming public scrutiny and personal attacks.
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