(CNN) — The family of Jason Arday, the Cambridge academic found dead on Friday after his resignation amid plagiarism allegations, described him as a “gentle man” who had faced “sustained abuse.”
Arday, 41, was Cambridge University’s youngest ever Black professor and a celebrated public figure until last month, when he suffered a swift fall from grace following intense questions about his academic achievements and charity work.
Arday became the focus of hundreds of articles doubting his credibility and denigrating his character in the British and international media.
News of his death brought widespread shock with many of those paying tribute arguing his treatment was disproportionate, if not outright racist.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Saturday described Arday’s death as “a tragedy on so many levels.”
“It’s not a moment for any rushing to judgement,” Burnham told reporters. “It’s a moment for reflection, I would say, reflecting on how things came to this.”
In a statement released by his publisher Simon & Schuster UK on Saturday, Arday’s family said he had had to contended with years of abuse.
“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 family said.
“The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,” the statement continued.
“We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son,” Arday’s family said, before asking the press to respect their privacy and to “stop the campaign of harassment which has been waged against Jason and his family for too long.”
Cambridge University initially defended Arday, but as speculation grew, the prestigious institution’s support waned and earlier this month launched an internal inquiry.
While the university said he would remain in post during the probe, Arday immediately resigned.
Arday acknowledged the persistent criticism he received from the press in an open resignation letter he published in early August through Good Law Project, a UK-based non-profit organization geared toward fighting injustice across the country.
“Sadly, the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack,” Arday wrote. “While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement. The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”
Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, the Cambridge-based clinical psychologist and director of The Autism Research Centre, said Arday’s mental health had deteriorated since the allegations began.
“He really wasn’t coping,” Baron-Cohen told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program on Saturday. “He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life.”
“He was an incredibly kind and gentle, and caring and generous, man but he has been portrayed in the media as a plagiarist and a liar and a fraud. He needed and deserved safeguarding and support and reasonable adjustment every step of the way.”
Baron-Cohen said he had remained in communication with Arday since his resignation, and received a final message from him on Friday morning.
“His last voice note was that he couldn’t go on,” Baron-Cohen said. “We need to let the investigations proceed, we need to understand how this tragedy has happened, but there has to be accountability at lots of levels,” he added.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said Arday was victim of a “public shaming”.
“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,” Khan said.
“Jason Arday was the victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn’t have faced. His death was a tragedy, but once again it should be a wake-up call for all of us,” he added.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said Arday underwent “a public and brutal takedown that unleashed a tirade of racism by the worst elements of the British media and the right wing commentariat.”
Many commentators expressed concern around the press treatment of Arday since the allegations entered the public domain, arguing his case has received far more media attention than that of other professors accused of plagiarism.
“Jason Arday wasn’t the first academic to be accused of plagiarism at Cambridge. He wasn’t the first person to have made implausible claims about his life in an autobiography,” British journalist and author Ash Sarkar posted on X in the wake of his death. “But he was the first where those things became a front-page story, across multiple papers, for days and days.”
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