Calls for public inquiry into Jason Arday 'witchhunt'

Public figures and friends of Jason Arday, a former Cambridge professor, have called for a public inquiry into the media coverage surrounding his death, following a two-week period of intense harassment. Labour MP Diane Abbott and actress Jameela Jamil are among the 30,000 signatories of a letter to the prime minister and culture secretary, which claims Arday's death was a result of the relentless media scrutiny.

The letter, issued by the Good Law Project, states that many signatories had privately warned media outlets about the intensity of their reporting. Lord Simon Woolley, principal of Homerton College, Cambridge, described Arday's situation as a "toxic, vicious witchhunt." The death of Arday, 41, who had resigned from his professorship on August 5 amid allegations of plagiarism, has sent shockwaves through academia.

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