A coroner has formally opened an inquest into the death of Jason Arday, who resigned as a professor at the University of Cambridge amid allegations of plagiarism. Arday, 41, died at his home in Battersea, south London on 14 August, nine days after his resignation. Family members watched the 10-minute hearing at London inner south coroner’s court via a video link.
The senior coroner, Dr Julian Morris, said: “London ambulance service and the Met police attended the home address after he’d been found unresponsive by returning family members. Sadly, despite resuscitative efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Met police confirmed that the scene was not suspicious.” He said that given the circumstances, he would launch an investigation into Arday’s death, adjourning the inquest until an unspecified later date.
Morris also implored the media to be “mindful of your reporting” and to have regard for Arday’s family and the public. There has been an intense debate over media handling of the allegations against Arday, with his family and supporters highly critical of the coverage and others defending it. In a statement announcing his resignation, Arday said he was driven to resign because the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”.
Arday was appointed professor of sociology of education at Cambridge in 2023, when he became the university’s youngest-ever black professor. He said he had been nonverbal until the age of 11, requiring extensive speech and language therapy, as well as being illiterate until 18. Arday resigned after accusations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career and achievements.
He was initially accused of plagiarising another academic’s work for his PhD thesis. But he denied the accusations, and an investigation by Liverpool John Moores University earlier this year upheld its decision to award him a PhD. In a statement, Arday’s family condemned what they said was a “campaign of misinformation” against him and described him as an “amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”.
They added: “We won’t comment further at this point beyond asking the press to leave us alone now, and to stop the campaign of harassment which has been waged against Jason and his family for too long.”
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