London, United Kingdom – Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black have filled London’s Trafalgar Square, with many carrying flowers for a vigil for Jason Arday, a former Cambridge University professor who died amid weeks of media scrutiny over claims of plagiarism. The 41-year-old academic, who was the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s history, was found dead at his home in south London on Friday, with many at Monday’s vigil blaming relentless and “racist” media coverage for his death. Arday, who was diagnosed with autism as a child, had denied the allegations against him.
Mourners on Monday carried signs that read, “Rest in power Professor Jason Arday”, “Stop racist media now” and “Racism within mainstream media is responsible for Jason Arday’s death”. The gathering was, as one man at the vigil put it, “a gathering of grief and of grievance”. Something dark has happened that we’re not happy with.” He added that the case had become fodder for ideological point-scoring.
It ticks all of their boxes.” The controversy centred on allegations that Arday had plagiarised parts of his 2015 doctoral thesis and embellished details of his personal biography. Arday resigned from his post at Cambridge on August 5, saying the “relentless accusations” had taken a “profound toll” on him and his family. Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded his doctorate, said it had cleared him of plagiarism, but Cambridge – which initially dismissed the allegations as a “vile campaign” to undermine Arday’s credibility – later opened a review of his appointment amid the continuing controversy.
He was found dead two weeks later, with Metropolitan Police saying the death was being treated as “unexpected” but that it was “not believed to be suspicious”. The cause has not been made public. Cambridge Chancellor Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, condemned what he called a “racist feeding frenzy” in a statement issued after Arday’s death.
Meanwhile, a petition calling for a public inquiry into the media’s conduct, started by the Good Law Project, had gathered more than 96,000 signatures by Monday. It argued that Arday’s “tragic death was the direct, foreseeable and foreseen result of press harassment,” and that “a significant element in that harassment was the colour of his skin”. The petition pointed to other academics who it said had faced comparatively little scrutiny over similar allegations.
This included George Holmes, a university vice chancellor implicated in a fraud inquiry, and William O’Reilly, a Cambridge professor accused of plagiarising student essays. The petition noted that both men are white. According to NewsCord, a media analysis organisation, some 249 articles about Arday were published in media in the United Kingdom in the 22 days before his death, with 188 appearing in the final nine days after his resignation.
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