Andy Burnham has called the death of Jason Arday, whose body was found at his home in south London on Friday, a “tragedy on so many levels”. Arday resigned as a professor at the University of Cambridge last week after allegations of plagiarism, which he denied. He was pronounced dead just after 3pm on Friday.
In a statement issued via his publisher, Simon & Schuster UK, the former academic’s family said they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”. Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Cornwall on Saturday, the prime minister said: “It’s a tragedy on so many levels, but particularly just for everybody who knew Jason, his family obviously, his friends. It’s a moment for reflection, I would say, reflecting on how things came to this.
A really sad, sad and sorry state of affairs and I think we all today think of Jason, his contribution and his family and friends.” More than £20,000 has been raised for the family of Arday after the Windrush campaigner Sir Patrick Vernon launched a fundraising drive via GoFundMe in his memory. Other leading figures to pay tribute included the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy. Khan said: “I’m devastated for the family and friends of Jason Arday.
He faced an unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse. I know many Londoners will be angry and upset this evening. His death was a tragedy, but once again it should be a wake-up call for all of us.” Speaking on Newsnight, Ribeiro-Addy read out a list of names including William O’Reilly, Ros Holmes, David Latchman, and Nicola Morrison.
Ribeiro-Addy said there had been a media witch-hunt which was cruel because “it didn’t aim to just target him”. In a statement on X, he wrote that a number of people at academic institutions “have serious questions to answer”. His whole world fell apart.” Simon Baron-Cohen, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Autism Research Centre, who was a friend of Arday’s, told Radio 4’s Today programme that he contacted him Friday morning and said that he felt he was unable to go on.
A review conducted by Liverpool John Moores University, where he completed his doctorate, upheld its decision to award him a PhD earlier this year. In recent weeks, other elements of his life story were increasingly questioned, including claims of prodigious money-raising for charity and feats of long-distance running. He was also challenged about whether he was nonverbal as a child.
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