Inquest begins into death of Jason Arday
By Ella Kipling and Paul Gribben
Published 8 minutes ago
An inquest has begun into the death of Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism row.
He was found dead at his home in London on 14 August, days after resigning from his post. His appointment as Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor at the age of 37 in 2023 was hailed at the time as a progressive moment.
Senior coroner Dr Julian Morris said on Wednesday: "The various reports have given me reason to suspect that Professor Arday died an unnatural death 12 days ago." He added, "I therefore must open an investigation. I will be setting out further directions for the coroner officer."
The Metropolitan Police initially stated Arday’s death was being treated as unexpected and not believed to be suspicious.
Arday was found "unresponsive" by family members at his Battersea home. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead. He had faced allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements. He denied the claims but admitted errors in his work, attributing them to his autism which led him to mimic information to make sense of it.
After his death, his family released a statement, saying they were "in shock to have lost this amazing father… who always wanted to see the best in everyone." There have been calls for a public inquiry into media coverage surrounding Arday before his death. His memoir is due to be published in the UK on Thursday, as planned, his family confirmed.
