Calls for public inquiry into Jason Arday 'witchhunt'

Labour MP Diane Abbott and actress Jameela Jamil are among 30,000 individuals who have signed a letter calling for a public inquiry into the media coverage surrounding the death of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday. Friends and public figures, including Lord Simon Woolley, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, and Labour MPs Bell Ribiero-Addy, Clive Lewis, and Nadia Whittome, have voiced their concerns over the intensity of Arday's reporting.

Arday's death followed two weeks of relentless harassment, the letter asserts. Lord Woolley, principal of Homerton College, Cambridge, described Arday's situation as a "toxic, vicious witchhunt." The letter, issued by the Good Law Project, emphasizes the need for responsible press coverage. Arday, 41, was found dead in Battersea, south London, on Friday, after resigning from his Cambridge position on August 5 amid plagiarism allegations he denied.

The university's investigation concluded he had not plagiarized. Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday his PhD, also found no evidence of plagiarism. The controversy began after Nathan Cofnas, now sacked from Cambridge, accused Arday of plagiarism, leading to a backlash over Cofnas's stance on meritocracy and race.

Arday's death has sparked a conversation on academia's duty of care and the role of racism in negatively impacting academic careers.