Arday found dead in Battersea
Euronews reported that Arday, 41, died after being found unresponsive at an address in Battersea, and that he had resigned from Cambridge earlier this month amid a high-profile plagiarism storm that included racism claims.
The BBC said Metropolitan Police were alerted by the London Ambulance Service and that a man of 41 years was declared dead at the scene, with the police adding, “En estos momentos, su muerte se considera inesperada, pero no se cree que sea sospechosa”.
Cambridge vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice said, “Nos entristece profundamente escuchar esta trágica noticia,” and the BBC reported that Arday had resigned from his post as a professor of Sociología de la Educación en Cambridge last week after the university announced a probe into the accusations.
Met police: unexpected, not suspicious
The Metropolitan Police statement cited by the BBC said officers were alerted by the London Ambulance Service after a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property in Battersea.
The BBC also quoted the police as saying, “En estos momentos, su muerte se considera inesperada, pero no se cree que sea sospechosa,” while ABC News & Headlines reported that the Met said, “At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.”
ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
ABC News & Headlines said Arday announced on August 5 that he was resigning from both his university post as a professor of sociology of education and as a fellow of Jesus College, shortly after Cambridge announced probes into the accusations.
In a letter posted online, Arday said quitting was “the only way” to end a “difficult period,” and he insisted the decision should not be “mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me,” as both ABC News & Headlines and Euronews reported.
Cambridge, family, and political reaction
Cambridge’s vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice told reporters she was “desperately saddened” and offered condolences to Jason Arday’s family and friends, while ABC News & Headlines said Education Secretary Lucy Powell was “deeply shocked [and] saddened” and urged privacy for the family.
“”We are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news,””
ABC
ABC News & Headlines reported that Arday’s family, speaking via his publisher Simon & Schuster UK, said they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son” and described a “campaign of misinformation” as too much for Jason.
In a letter posted online, Arday wrote that it was “the only way” to end a “difficult period,” and he insisted the decision should not be “mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me,” as Euronews and ABC News & Headlines both quoted.
The BBC reported that Arday had denied plagiarism but admitted errors in his work, and it said the controversy had been seized on by British right-wing newspapers and commentators who claimed he benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion policies.