The family of British academic Jason Arday, who was found dead at a South London address on Friday night amid a high-profile plagiarism storm, have denounced what they called years of “sustained abuse”.
In an overnight statement following Arday’s death, his family said he had been “subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University”.
Arday had himself alleged a “racially motivated” campaign against him.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said “it’s a tragedy on so many levels, but particularly just for everybody who knew Jason, his family obviously, his friends.”
Burnham also said it was not the time for “any rushing to judgement”, and that now is “a moment for reflection… reflecting on how things came to this.”
A ‘campaign of misinformation’
Arday resigned from his post at the University of Cambridge last week shortly after it announced a probe into the various accusations against him.
He made headlines when the university appointed him as its youngest black professor in 2023, but subsequently faced growing claims he plagiarised parts of his PhD thesis.
Questions also emerged about some of his stated life achievements, including that he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days and raised millions for charities.
The allegations were seized on by British right-wing newspapers and commentators, who claimed he unfairly benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Media outlets including The Times, Guardian and the Telegraph have published several investigative articles into Arday’s academic work and personal life.
In their statement following his death, Arday’s family alleged “the campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone.”
Diagnosed with autism, Arday said he was non-verbal until age 11 and only learnt to read and write at 18, before becoming Cambridge’s youngest black professor at age 37, teaching sociology.
In an interview with The Times earlier this month, Arday admitted making academic “mistakes” but said he was being wrongly “portrayed to be a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud”.
He said that some errors in his early academic work were because of his autism, as he relied on using mimicry to understand information.
Simon Baron-Cohen, a Cambridge professor and director of the Autism Research Centre, told BBC radio that he spoke to Arday on Friday morning.
“He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life,” he said.
“He wasn’t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he could not go on. He used those words in voice notes.”
Additional sources • AFP