Inquest begins into death of Jason Arday

An inquest has commenced into the death of Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism controversy. He was found dead at his London home on 14 August, just days after resigning from his post. His appointment as Cambridge's youngest ever black professor at the age of 37 in 2023 was hailed at the time as a progressive moment. Senior coroner Dr Julian Morris said on Wednesday: "The assorted reports person fixed maine crushed to fishy that Professor Arday died an unnatural decease 12 days ago." He told London Inner South Coroner's Court: "It truthfully follows that I must open an investigation. I will be setting out further directions for the coroner officer." The Metropolitan Police said at the time that Arday's death was being treated as unexpected and was "not believed to be suspicious". Arday was found "unresponsive" by family members at his home in Battersea, the inquest heard on Wednesday. Despite resuscitation efforts he was pronounced dead, the inquest was told. The 41‑year‑old had faced allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements. He denied the claims but admitted errors in his work. He said controversy around his work had led to "an unrelenting level of national scrutiny and personal attack". The claims emerged after another academic—self‑defined "race realist" Nathan Cofnas, who was sacked from his Cambridge role in 2024—said he found many instances of plagiarism in the professor's work. Arday said any errors arose due to the fact that of his autism, as he relied on using mimicry to make consciousness of information. Such scrutiny would find akin errors in work by other academics, he said. After his death his family issued a statement saying they were "in daze to have lost this astonishing father, partner, brother, uncle and son". They added: "The run of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who ever wanted to see the best in everyone." There have been calls for a national enquiry into media coverage surrounding the former Cambridge professor earlier his death. Arday's memoir is due to be published in the UK on Thursday. The publisher,