Thousands gather in London to mourn Professor Jason Arday, accusing press of 'racist' coverage

London, United Kingdom – Tens of thousands of people dressed in black gathered at Trafalgar Square in London, many carrying flowers, to attend a memorial for Jason Arday, the former Cambridge University professor who died amid weeks of intense media scrutiny over allegations of plagiarism.

The 41-year-old professor, who had been the youngest Black professor in Cambridge's history, was found dead at his home in south London on Friday. At the memorial service on Monday, many blamed the relentless and “racist” media coverage for his death. Arday, who was diagnosed with autism as a child, had denied all allegations against him.

Attendees on Monday held signs reading “Rest in Peace, Professor Jason Arday,” “Stop the racist media now,” and “The racism of the mainstream media is the cause of Jason Arday's death.” The gathering, as one man at the memorial described it, was “a coming together of grief and anger.”

Paul Vincent, a social worker, said: “I felt compelled, as did many others, to come here to pay respects to Professor Arday and his family. But also to come together in solidarity, to say that we are absolutely appalled. Something dark has happened that we are not happy about.” He added that the case had become a political football. “Sadly, these issues that surround this tragedy are a matter of interest, if not obsession, for the right and far-right. It ticks every box for them.”

“A racist feeding frenzy”

The controversy centered on allegations that Arday had plagiarized parts of his 2015 PhD thesis and embellished details of his personal biography. Arday resigned from Cambridge on August 5, saying the “relentless allegations” had caused “profound hurt” to him and his family.

Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded him his PhD, said it had cleared him of plagiarism. However, Cambridge – which initially dismissed the allegations as a “dirty campaign” to discredit Arday – subsequently opened a review of his appointment amid continuing controversy.

He was found dead two weeks later. The Metropolitan Police described the death as “unexpected” but “not believed to be suspicious.” The cause has not been released.

Cambridge's Vice-Chancellor, Chris Smith, condemned what he called a “racist feeding frenzy” in a statement issued after Arday's death.

Meanwhile, a petition initiated by the Good Law Project calling for a public inquiry into media conduct had gathered more than 96,000 signatures by Monday. The petition argues that “Arday's tragic death was the direct, foreseeable and forewarned result of press harassment,” and that “a significant element of that harassment was his skin color.”

The petition also pointed to other academics who, it claimed, faced little scrutiny for similar allegations, including George Holmes, a university vice-chancellor involved in a fraud investigation, and William O'Reilly, a Cambridge professor accused of plagiarizing a student's essay. The petition stressed that both men are white.

According to NewsCord, a media analysis organization, some 249 articles about Arday were published in UK media in the 22 days before his death, including 188 in the final nine days following his resignation.

Organizers of Monday's memorial asked attendees not to speak to reporters, and the atmosphere toward the media turned hostile throughout the evening.

Patricia Cohen, who attended with a yellow rose and a banner, said she had stopped reading news about the case weeks ago, calling it “biased.” “I knew it was just unfair condemnation. Even if he truly did something wrong, it didn't deserve the abuse, the torment he went through.” She questioned whether journalists should face any accountability for their reporting. “Do we start fining journalists? Are they better supervised? Because the way they hunt people down, especially people of color – it's hard to describe.”

“We let him down”

Liz Combe, who attended with friends, said the case felt personal. “I came here because Jason could have been my son,” she said. “He was at the top of his game, doing something for the Black community, giving back to us, in his greatness – and then being brought down, just because of racism.”

The ceremony was attended by many prominent Black public figures in Britain, including politicians Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, filmmaker Misan Harriman, and singer Beverley Knight.

Abbott, the first Black woman elected to the UK Parliament, told the crowd she had met Arday a week before his death. “He was always a lovely, kind, and intelligent man,” she said, “but the vicious campaign against him was beginning to take its toll.” She said she believed that “the vicious media campaign drove him to his death.”

Butler offered an apology on behalf of those who failed to protect Arday. “We let him down, and I apologize to his family; we failed to protect him,” she said. “This is not a battle between Black and White; this is a battle between good and evil, between racists and anti-racists.”

Singer Knight described watching the events unfold: “We watched that spectacle unfold before our very eyes – the destruction of a brilliant human being, for entertainment, fueled by jealousy and fed by hatred,” she said, looking out at the crowd. “When I look around now, I see an ocean of unity, of togetherness, of solidarity.”

A few weeks before Arday's death, Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre, publicly warned that one in four autistic people had planned or attempted suicide, and spoke of “the relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man,” raising concerns about Arday's well-being.

Arday's family did not attend the memorial. A statement from the family was read by Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP representing the family. “These past days have been an extremely painful time,” the family said, thanking those who had shown “kindness, generosity, and solidarity.” They described Arday as “a selfless and gentle soul who constantly uplifted others through his words and actions,” adding that “the public cruelty Jason endured was too much for any man to bear.”

The statement ended with words the family attributed to Arday himself: “Every human life has a purpose. Imagine what could happen if we all united for the cause of valuing every human being equally. Then, perhaps, great things could happen.”