Cambridge Professor Jason Arday sent friend heartbreaking voice note just hours before his death
A friend of the former Cambridge University professor Jason Arday has revealed the content of voice notes that he got from him tragically discussing how he 'couldn't go on'.
Prof Arday, who resigned after a plagiarism row, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday (14 August) to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.
The professor of sociology of education who became Cambridge’s youngest black professor in 2023, quit following a series of media reports alleging he plagiarised his PhD thesis – completed at Liverpool John Moores University – and other research.
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Further questions were asked in the press about the truth of other claims he made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he had raised £5.5 million for charity. However an investigation at Liverpool John Moores University had cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.
It's now been revealed that Arday had told a friend he 'couldn’t go on' just hours before he died after being subjected to intense scrutiny over his academic career
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, University of Cambridge professor, and director of the Autism Research Centre, Sir Simon Baron-Cohen shared that he had spoken to Arday earlier on Friday morning.
Speaking to the BBC show about the voice memos, he explained: "He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life, and he wasn’t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he couldn’t go on. He used those words in voice notes."
Sir Simon said Prof Arday was a 'kind and gentle' man who had been 'bombarded by every media outlet' and used as a 'lightning rod' to examine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
He added: “At the heart of all of this was a man who’d been diagnosed in childhood with disabilities that included autism and language delay and learning differences.
“He was a vulnerable child, a vulnerable teenager, and a vulnerable adult, so he needed and deserved safeguarding and support and reasonable adjustment every step of the way.”
Family issues heartbreaking statement
After his death, Arday's family also spoke out. In a heartbreaking statement, the 41-year-old's loved ones responded to the 'campaign of sustained abuse' he endured, saying: "The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason."
In a statement issued by his publisher Simon & Schuster UK, his family said: “Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for the more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.
"The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone.
"We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.
"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."
Following Arday's death, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3.12pm on Friday, 14 August following a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property on Daley Thompson Way, SW8. Sadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
"His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.
"At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious. The case is being investigated by officers from the Met’s Central South Command Unit. A file will be prepared for the coroner."
Why Jason Arday resigned from the University of Cambridge
A report by The Telegraph, published on July 24, claimed that over 100 pages of Mr Arday's PhD dissertation was similar to a thesis by Paula Zwozdiak-Myers, a student at Brunel University in London, which was published six years earlier.
In response, Cambridge said they had forwarded the complaints to Liverpool John Moores University, where Arday completed the PhD, but they then clarified it had not been plagiarised after reviewing the work.
Mr Arday denied the accusations, saying: “To clarify, there have been multiple thorough investigations across several institutions as a result of the allegations, and immense scrutiny, including with an academic misconduct panel who concluded that there was no plagiarism or academic misconduct.”
He went on to resign last Wednesday, August 5, but stressed that his resignation was not an indication that he was admitting guilt.
In a statement shared by The Good Law Project, Arday said: “It is with profound sadness that I write to resign, with immediate effect, from my position at the University of Cambridge and Jesus College.
“When I accepted the extraordinary honour of becoming professor of sociology at Cambridge, it was, without question, the greatest professional privilege of my life.
"This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me.
"It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said previously: “We take allegations of academic misconduct incredibly seriously.
“It is university procedure that investigations are carried out by the institution at which the research was undertaken.
"This is standard practice in the sector because that institution has access to the information to ensure a full and fair investigation.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
James Holt