Overview
- Police and media reported that Arday was found dead in a Battersea address on Friday and the Metropolitan Police said the death is being treated as unexpected with no current indication of criminal activity.
- Arday resigned from his Cambridge professorship days earlier after public allegations of plagiarism in his doctoral work and questions about parts of his CV that were first highlighted by researcher Nathan Cofnas.
- His family released a statement describing a ‘‘desinformation’’ or mobbing campaign that they say overwhelmed him, and more than 31,000 people have signed a petition asking for a state-level inquiry.
- The University of Cambridge and several other institutions have opened or announced independent reviews of his appointment and academic record while Liverpool John Moores had earlier investigated related concerns and found no proven misconduct.
- Senior politicians, academics and campaign groups have urged restraint and reflection and the case is already prompting debate over press standards, university vetting of senior hires, and the wider politics around diversity programmes.