Thousands of mourners filled central London for a vigil honouring former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, with speakers and supporters blaming racism and sustained media scrutiny for his death last week.
The gathering in Trafalgar Square followed condemnation from Cambridge University’s head of what he called a “racist feeding frenzy” surrounding allegations of plagiarism against Mr Arday.
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Mr Arday, appointed in 2023 as Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor, was found dead on Friday at the age of 41. His death came amid escalating claims that he had copied sections of his doctoral thesis and overstated elements of his personal achievements.
Chris Smith, the University of Cambridge’s chancellor, said he believed the allegations should be “rigorously investigated”.
Jason Arday was pronounced dead after emergency services were called an address in Battersea, south London
Diagnosed with autism as a child, Mr Arday had rejected the allegations made against him.
However, in a public resignation letter dated 5 August, he wrote that he had “reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure”.
The cause of death has not been disclosed. Police have said the circumstances were not suspicious and that they were preparing a file for the coroner.
Labour MP Diane Abbott, the first black woman elected to the UK Parliament, told the rally that she had seen Mr Arday a week earlier.
‘Press harassment’
Campaign group Stand Up To Racism said about 30,000 people took part in the event, though the attendance figure could not be independently confirmed.
Many mourners wore black and carried roses, sunflowers and banners bearing the words: ‘Rest in power Professor Jason Arday’.
Supporters laid flowers for the former Cambridge professor
Claire Lynch, a 69-year-old retired teacher, said she had been “horrified” by the treatment Mr Arday received and believed he had been “hounded”.
“I spent a lot of my life teaching my pupils that they could do anything, if they put their mind to it. And to see someone brought down who was doing exactly that – he would have been someone I was holding up as an example,” she said.
Alex Pascall, 89, described Mr Arday’s death as a “wake-up” call, saying it was “time for these types of things to stop”.
A smaller, separate vigil took place in Cambridge on the same day.
An online fundraiser established by racial equality campaigner Patrick Vernon for Mr Arday’s family had collected more than £174,000 (€203,510.40) by the evening.
Meanwhile, a petition calling for an immediate public inquiry into the media’s coverage of Mr Arday had attracted more than 90,000 signatures by late evening, including those of Ms Abbott and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.
Posted by activist organisation Good Law Project and addressed to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the petition said Mr Arday’s death was “the direct, foreseeable and foreseen result of press harassment”.
Labour MP Diane Abbott spoke during the vigil
Downing Street did not say whether an inquiry would be launched, instead repeating Mr Burnham’s remarks from Saturday that the moment called for “reflection”.
The petition said Mr Arday had endured “two weeks of relentless harassment” before his death and argued that “racism lay at the heart of this story”.
Cambridge University is also facing scrutiny over how it handled the allegations and its treatment of Mr Arday.
Former students have launched a website titled ‘Everything Good About Jason Arday’, inviting people to share memories “about the kindest person we knew”.
Before news of Mr Arday’s death was announced last week, Cambridge vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice had ordered an investigation into the circumstances of his appointment and his time at the university.
