By CAROLINE GRAHAM, US EDITOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

Published: 23:46 BST, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 03:41 BST, 16 August 2026

Iran hit back at Donald Trump‘s claim that he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.

The President made the assertion during a speech at a Long Island police academy on Friday when he said: ‘After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. 

‘We have control over it. Nobody else. Only us.’

But last night Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi ridiculed the claim, saying the US has ‘no authority’ over the vital waterway that has become a flashpoint in the six-month war.

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On X he wrote: ‘The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian. 

This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command. The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech.’

He added that as long as Mr Trump ‘will not accept the reality of defeat’ and stop indulging his ‘delusions’, Iran will continue to ‘enforce its blockade’ of the waterway which, before hostilities began in February, carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

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Iran hit back last night at Donald Trump’s claim that he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory

Iran launched a strike against an oil tanker in the strait yesterday according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which said that a vessel belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was hit by an ‘unknown projectile’. 

No injuries were reported in the strike, which allegedly hit the vessel’s hull.

The strait – which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea – is currently under the shared jurisdiction of Oman and Iran.

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But Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that he will seize ownership as part of any peace deal.

The US has twice deployed a total blockade of the waterway and Mr Trump insists vessels which continue to pass through do so only with America’s permission.

Only six vessels travelled through the strait last weekend – a fraction of the 140 oil tankers that would typically cross each day before the war. 

Oil prices have surged since the start of the conflict, with the price of crude rising 6 per cent this week as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran faded.

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Only six vessels travelled through the strait last weekend – a fraction of the 140 oil tankers that would typically cross each day before the war

Mr Trump told Fox News on Friday that he will continue to ‘hit Iran’s economy hard‘.

He added that he ‘didn’t care’ whether or not the war ended before November’s midterm elections in the US, in which the cost of living will be the number one issue for voters.

In a speech earlier this month, he said ‘to the victor goes the spoils’, and declared that the US would impose tolls on the strait once the war had ended.

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Mr Trump said: ‘We will take control of the strait and we will charge ships to go through it and we will make lots of lovely money.’

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Joey Logano continued his surge toward the NASCAR Chase, winning Saturday night at Richmond Raceway with a late-race charge on fresh tires.

The three-time Cup Series champion scored his second victory in the past four races while surging from 17th to ninth in the points standings.

With 24 laps remaining, the Team Penske driver snatched the lead from Christopher Bell, who had pitted 20 laps earlier and was trying to stretch his tires to the finish on Richmond’s abrasive surface.

Logano raced to his 39th career victory and third at Richmond. He won by 0.392 seconds over Chase Briscoe, who led a race-high 171 of 400 laps but was unable to catch Logano after losing the lead just before his final pit stop.

Briscoe had a best finish of 11th in nine previous starts at Richmond, one of only three active tracks where he had yet to score a top 10. After qualifying second, he passed pole-sitter Ryan Blaney on the first lap to lead the first lap of his career on the 0.75-mile oval.

Austin Cindric finished third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.

Hamlin family dedication

In an emotional ceremony Friday morning, Richmond Raceway dedicated the grandstand seats where Denny Hamlin’s parents sat for years watching NASCAR races long before their son became a 64-time winner in the Cup Series. Hamlin’s father, Dennis, died in a house fire last December.

The track’s tribute was among the highlights of a homecoming weekend for Hamlin, who grew up about 20 minutes from the track.

“It’s really the time I get to see my brother and sister that still live up here,” said Hamlin, who lives in the Charlotte, N.C., area. “I’ve got lots of high school friends that have their own campsite here. It will be amazing if they don’t get arrested.”

Mirror driving

In an appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast this week, Ty Gibbs lobbied for removing the digital rearview camera that NASCAR implemented four years ago. Gibbs joked that some Cup drivers would be out of the series without the high-tech device that makes blocking easier by anticipating an opponent’s move. He’s gotten no feedback from NASCAR but hopes a change could be made in the offseason.

“I didn’t hear anything on it, but I thought I’d recommend it,” GIbbs said. “I just think everybody probably agrees to it, too. I mean, a lot of people do, so I thought I’d say it. I think it could happen. They took windshield wipers off, and we run in the rain still, so I think it could happen.”

Another sellout

Richmond Raceway announced its grandstands were full for the second consecutive year, marking the 11th sellout in 24 Cup Series races this season. Many of those tracks have reduced seating capacities in the past 15 years, and Richmond is among the most notable. The track’s capacity is roughly half of its 112,000-seat peak in the mid-2000s.

Up next

The NASCAR Cup Series will make its annual stop at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a 301-lap race Aug. 23 at the 1.058-mile oval. Ryan Blaney is the defending race winner at the track.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Searchers dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris Sunday in eastern Indonesia as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands.

At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighboring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

The USGS said the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The quake, at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of Flores, rattled much of the island and sent residents fleeing in panic. Tremors were also felt in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.

The disaster agency said the quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 more, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters. Thousands more spent the night outdoors, fearing strong aftershocks. At least 167 public facilities, including schools, health centers and churches, were also damaged.

Relief workers have begun distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications as well as delivering aid to remote villages isolated by landslides remained among the biggest challenges.

The quake also struck Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia’s best-known tourist destinations. Landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometer (435-mile) road linking communities across the mountainous island.

Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than risk returning to damaged homes.

“The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed,” said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo, speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home. “We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept.”

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.

Flores has experienced some of the country’s deadliest disasters. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1992 killed about 2,500 people on the island.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

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Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

With temperatures forecast to reach around 37°C in places, reaching for an ice cream or an icy drink might seem like an excellent idea. There is, however, one small hazard to eating your frozen treat with too much enthusiasm: brain freeze.

That sudden, stabbing pain is officially classified as a cold-stimulus headache. The International Headache Society describes it as a headache caused by eating, drinking or inhaling something very cold. “Ice-cream headache” and “brain freeze” are much easier to say while clutching your forehead.

And it is surprisingly common. In one study of 618 people aged 17 to 63, just over half said they had experienced brain freeze.

Scientists still do not know exactly what causes it, partly because a headache that disappears almost as quickly as it arrives is difficult to study.

Very cold food or drink touching the roof of the mouth or the back of the throat can trigger the pain. One important player seems to be the trigeminal nerve, a large nerve that carries information about sensations, including pain and temperature, from the face and parts of the mouth to the brain.

When the roof of the mouth is suddenly chilled, researchers think the cold activates pathways involving this nerve. That may help explain one of the strangest things about brain freeze. The cold is in your mouth, but the pain is commonly felt in the forehead or temples and can sometimes be felt around the eyes.

This is often described as referred pain, where pain is felt somewhere other than the place that triggered it. That may be why brain freeze can make your forehead hurt even though the cold is in your mouth.

Blood flow may also be involved, although the story is more complicated than was once thought. In one study that deliberately triggered brain freeze with ice water, researchers recorded changes in blood-flow velocity in an artery supplying the brain. Other experiments have also found evidence of changes in the brain’s circulation during brain freeze.

So the familiar explanation that cold simply makes blood vessels narrow and then rapidly widen is probably too tidy. Current research points towards an interaction between nerve signalling and changes in blood flow, but the precise mechanism is still uncertain.

What about migraine?

The relationship between brain freeze and migraine is also less straightforward than it might appear.

Some research suggests a connection. In one study of 669 women, those who had experienced migraine during the previous year were about twice as likely to develop a headache after drinking ice-cold water as women who had never had migraine.

Other studies have produced different results. A 1992 experiment triggered ice-cream headaches less often in people with migraine than in its comparison group. And a larger 2020 study found that people with migraine were no more likely to experience brain freeze, although those who did tended to report more intense pain.

For some people with migraine, brain freeze may occasionally trigger a migraine attack. The 1992 study found a small number of people for whom this appeared to happen, although the researchers concluded that ice-cream headache was not a common migraine trigger.

The two types of headache may share some pain pathways, but the relationship between them is still not fully understood.

Why do children seem to get it so often?

Brain freeze is common among children and teenagers, although research in younger people is still relatively limited. A large survey of 8,359 adolescents found that 41% had experienced an ice-cream headache.

How quickly they eat may be part of the explanation. In a wonderfully simple Canadian experiment involving 145 schoolchildren, children were given 100ml of ice cream. One group had to eat it in less than five seconds, while the other took more than 30 seconds. About 27% of the fast eaters developed brain freeze, compared with around 13% of those who took their time.

There is therefore some scientific justification for the instruction usually delivered by parents while watching a child demolish an ice cream: slow down.

Can you stop brain freeze?

Prevention appears to be easier than cure. In the Canadian experiment, eating ice cream quickly more than doubled the likelihood of developing brain freeze. In another study, 73% of people who experienced brain freeze said eating or drinking cold things more slowly reduced how often it happened or how intense it was.

Most attacks are over very quickly. In the study of 618 people, 93% of brain-freeze headaches lasted less than 30 seconds. But some last longer. One experimental study found a less common form that lasted an average of almost four minutes, while the International Headache Society’s diagnostic criteria allow for the headache to take up to ten minutes to disappear after the cold stimulus is removed.

There is little good research showing that popular tricks such as pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth make the headache disappear faster. Fortunately, brain freeze usually resolves on its own.

So during the heatwave, there is no need to fear the ice-cream van. Just resist the temptation to eat your purchase as though someone is about to take it away from you. Eating it slowly may help you enjoy it without the headache.

In the animal kingdom, any hunt for a meal or encounter with a predator is a matter of life and death. To survive both, animals have evolved a multitude of weapons, of which venoms may be one of the most widespread and effective.

But building a chemical weapon presents an evolutionary dilemma. Should venom be optimised to disarm prey, or to cause rapid pain to deter predators? Our new study suggests that in snakes, a meal comes before self-defence.

Venoms are complex chemical cocktails. Their composition is shaped fundamentally by their intended purpose. Predatory venoms disrupt multiple tissues and organs at once to immobilise prey. On the other hand, defensive venoms have only one job: to cause rapid, intense pain to deter predators. Think of a bee sting, for example.

These differences create a conundrum. What if an animal wants to use its venom for both predation and defence? This is not a trivial question, because the storage capacity of venom glands is limited, and producing venoms is thought to carry an energetic cost. That opens the door to an evolutionary trade-off: investing resources into one function might leave less for the other.

Venomous snakes are probably the best-studied venomous organisms, and for a good reason. Unfortunately, snakebite remains a huge medical issue, especially in tropical countries. More than 100,000 people die yearly and more than 400,000 people suffer lifelong injuries as a consequence of snakebite.

In theory, antivenoms could prevent many of those deaths, but there is another problem. Snake venoms are extremely variable, not just between species but also between different populations of the same species. This means that antivenoms developed for one region can fail to work in another. Understanding what drives this immense venom variation is the first step towards more effective treatments.

Snakes use their venoms both for hunting and self-defence. We have good evidence that diet is the central factor shaping venom composition in many snakes. In contrast, defence against predators has rarely been studied as an important evolutionary driver, and never in comparison with diet.

Based on the results of a previous study, we suspected that species that hunt easy, low-risk prey such as insects might not need a highly lethal predatory venom, freeing up resources to invest in more defensive, pain-inducing compounds instead.

To test this idea, we looked at a group of venomous snakes called meadow vipers (Vipera ursinii and relatives). These curious little snakes live in the lowland steppes and alpine meadows of Eurasia. Their diet is unusual among vipers, as they eat mostly or almost entirely grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.

On the other hand, they also regularly fall prey to predators like birds of prey, badgers and foxes. It’s exactly the kind of pressure that might favour a defensive venom.

For our study, we travelled to where their populations can be found across Europe to obtain venom by “milking” them. It’s a process that causes no harm to the snakes, and they were released back to their habitats afterwards. We also collected venom from other European vipers like the adder (V. berus), asp viper (V. aspis) and nose-horned viper (V. ammodytes), which mostly feed on more dangerous prey, like rodents.

If our trade-off theory held, we would expect these venoms to be more predatory and less pain-inducing than those of meadow vipers.

Putting venom to the test

To measure pain, we tested the venoms on cultures of specialised sensory neuron cells. These are cells responsible for detecting harmful stimuli in the body. If such a cell is activated to produce pain, calcium ions flow into the cell. So, to track whether venom triggered these cells, we treated them with a fluorescent dye that reacts to calcium and measured the emitted fluorescence.

To our surprise, regardless of diet, none of the tested venoms activated these cells, not even that of the insect-feeding meadow vipers. So, it appears that European viper venoms, like in most snakes, probably evolved to overcome prey rather than to fend off predators.

All this does does not mean that viper bites don’t hurt. They do. But it seems that the pain is mostly caused as a side effect of other venom actions, such as inflammation, tissue degradation or muscle spasms.

There are however exceptions elsewhere in the snake world. Some toxins found in lanceheads and coral snakes do directly stimulate pain receptors. However, such toxins have been documented in only a handful of species and their ecological function remains enigmatic.

That means the story of snake venom is far from complete. Rather than revealing a universal rule, our findings suggest that, at least in European vipers, the evolutionary pressure to catch prey has outweighed the need to deter predators. Understanding where that pattern holds – and where it doesn’t – could help explain why snake venoms vary so dramatically, an essential step towards developing better treatments for snakebite around the world.

Princess Anne, often hailed as the hardest-working royal, is just as well known for her commitment to rewearing her favourite pieces.

Over the years, she has breathed new life into an impressive collection of coats, dresses, hats and handbags – some of which have been in rotation for decades.

Speaking about her approach to fashion, she once remarked: ‘A good suit goes on forever. If it is properly made and has a classic look, you can wear it ad infinitum. The economy was bred into me.’

As the Princess celebrates her 76th birthday, we take a closer look at some of the most memorable moments from her ‘time capsule’ wardrobe.

Ivory coat dress

For the Nigerian state banquet at Windsor Castle in March, Anne revisited an ivory coat dress she first wore in 1969, when she was just 18, for the premiere of Run Wild, Run Free

For the Nigerian state banquet at Windsor Castle in March, Anne revisited an ivory coat dress she first wore in 1969, when she was just 18, for the premiere of Run Wild, Run Free.

Crafted from ribbed ivory silk, the figure-skimming design features embroidered cuffs and intricate beading. 

For her recent appearance, Anne gave the vintage piece a contemporary update, removing its original ruffled neckline and replacing it with a classic pointed collar.

Red coat

This double-breasted red coat is clearly another of Anne’s enduring favourites. She began wearing it regularly in the 1990s, for occasions ranging from Christmas celebrations to horse races, and has continued to bring it out over the years 

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This double-breasted red coat is clearly another of Anne’s enduring favourites.

She began wearing it regularly in the 1990s, for events ranging from Christmas celebrations to horse races, and has continued to bring it out over the years.

Most recently, she wore the timeless piece on the final day of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, styling it with a faux fur headpiece and knee-high boots.

Turquoise dress 

The Princess Royal first wore this turquoise dress during the 1978 state visit of President Khama of Botswana, in London , when she was 26. She wore it most recently during a visit to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Dubai in March 

The Princess Royal first wore this turquoise dress during the 1978 state visit of President Khama of Botswana in London when she was 26. 

Since then, Anne has worn the garment on a number of occasions, including Royal Ascot in 2013 and a visit to the Queen Elizabeth 2 hotel in Dubai in March.

Astonishingly, it retains its pristine condition. 

Lilac coat 

Anne wore this lilac coat on at least six royal engagements between 1982 and 2004

Anne wore this lilac coat on at least six royal engagements between 1982 and 2004.

The Princess debuted the outerwear, with a corresponding John Boyd veiled hat, when welcoming Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands for a state visit in 1982.

A year later, she wore it for the unveiling of the Mountbatten Memorial Statue in London, followed by an appearance in 1988 to launch the submarine HMS Talent.

Anne wore the elegant coat again for the 1992 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey and then for a fourth time on a visit to Greenwich’s Royal Naval College in 1997.

More recently, she reached for the A-line wool design on Christmas Day in 2001, 2004 and 2013, pairing it with her original hat.

Pink satin dress

Anne wore her striking satin dress to the 1984 Bafta Awards (left) and the 2001 Save The Children Festival (right)

Anne has demonstrated her style prowess in this perfectly eighties frock. 

Attending the 1984 Bafta Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, she made a bold statement in a satin gown, featuring voluminous puff sleeves and a houndstooth-printed skirt.  

When it came to rewearing the dress in 2001, Anne altered the sleeves to make it more appropriate for the decade.

Yellow and navy coat 

The Princess Royal has worn her yellow and navy coat on five occasions since 2007. Pictured left in 2011 and right in 2023

Anne has showcased this yellow and navy coat five times since 2007. 

She debuted the tailored single-breasted design at the Easter Sunday service in Windsor 18 years ago.

She dusted it off for Royal Ascot in 2009 and, a decade later, wore it for the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. 

Most recently, she wore the coat while visiting New Zealand and then Jersey in 2023.

Printed skirt suit 

This skirt suit was a mainstay in Princess Anne’s 90s wardrobe. She dusted it off for Royal Ascot in 2014 (right)

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Initially seen at Royal Ascot in 1988, this skirt suit played a key role in Princess Anne’s nineties wardrobe. 

She notably selected the printed jacket and mid-length cream skirt for the wedding of Lady Helen Windsor and Tim Taylor at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in 1992.

It was next spotted at Ascot in 1994 and later at a VE Day commemoration in 1995.

Following a 19-year break, the look was revived at Royal Ascot 2014, complemented with the same ivory gloves and court shoes. 

Floral wrap dress 

Anne wore her Maureen Baker floral print dress to royal weddings in 1981 (left) and 2008 (right)

The Princess has worn this floral print dress by Maureen Baker for two royal weddings – 27 years apart. 

Anne debuted the wrap dress, adorned with orange tulips and ruffles, at the wedding of her brother, Prince Charles, to Princess Diana in 1981.

She added pearl jewellery and a John Boyd floral hat in complementary tones.

Almost three decades later, Anne rewore the look to the 2008 wedding of her cousin, Lady Rose Windsor, to George Gilman at the Queen’s Chapel in London. 

Coral dress and floral jacket

Anne recycled her mother-of-the-bride outfit for Royal Ascot 2012, swapping her fascinator for a wide-brimmed hat

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In 2011, Anne excelled with her vibrant mother-of-the-bride outfit. 

The proud parent looked radiant in a floral print jacket, layered over a coral pleated dress that fell to the knee, as she witnessed her daughter, Zara Phillips, tie the knot with Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

The next year, Anne recycled her ensemble for Royal Ascot, swapping her fascinator for a wide-brimmed hat. 

Orange-trimmed skirt suit

Princess Anne has worn this cream skirt suit with orange trim a handful of times over the years

Anne first wore this sleek skirt suit to Trooping the Colour in 1987.

Since then, she has reached for the two-piece numerous times, including during a three-day visit to Pretoria, South Africa, to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

While her pearl jewellery remains untouched, Anne has paired the look with various hats – and once went bareheaded. 

Initially, she accessorised with an orange fascinator, before opting for a cream chapeau at the 2008 Founders Day Parade at Chelsea Royal Hospital. 

However, Anne wore the outfit sans hat to attend the Centenary Annual meeting of the National Federation of Women’s Institute at the Royal Albert Hall in 2015.

Embellished gown 

Princess Anne demonstrated her fearless fashion sense in this embellished gown, worn in 1989 (left) and 2005 (right)

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The Princess demonstrated her fearless fashion sense in this embellished lavender gown. 

In 1989, she wore the vivid design to an event at the Royal Albert Hall, marking the 70th anniversary of the Save the Children fund.

The royal swapped her velvet choker for a three-strand pearl necklace when she rewore the dress to Grosvenor House in 2005.

Fur-trimmed coat 

Debuted in 1976, Anne rewore her fur-trimmed coat in 1983 (left) and 2012 (right)

This fur-lined coat has seen Princess Anne through five decades of winters. 

Aged 23, she wore the pastel-coloured coat to the 1976 wedding of friends Chris Collins and Susanne Lumb, teaming it with a Yvette Jelfs hat and patent boots. 

It reappeared for a meeting with church dignitaries, which she attended with her husband, Mark Phillips, in 1983.

A blue scarf and bag appeared to be the only alterations when Anne sported the look for Christmas Day services at Sandringham in 2003 and 2006.

By 2008, she upgraded her knee-high boots and added a new hat, repeating this combination in 2012.

Cream and navy coat

Princess Anne has worn her smart cream and navy coat on no less than five occasions since 1980

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Simple yet striking, this coat is another favourite of Anne’s. 

She first wore the design with a white pillbox hat at Royal Ascot in 1980, recycling the look at the Derby at Epsom Downs in 1985.  

The Princess Royal dusted off the timeless coat for two Buckingham Palace garden parties in 2015.

She repeated the flawless ensemble for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in 2018. 

Yellow coat dress 

Anne has favoured her Susan Small coat dress for significant events throughout the years

Anne has been loyal to this yellow double-breasted coat by Susan Small for over four decades. 

It was initially worn to Trooping the Colour in 1980, teamed with a matching printed dress and wide-brimmed hat – an ensemble that was replicated at the Epsom Derby in 1983. 

After a hiatus, Anne resurrected the coat in 2007 for the Central Benevolent Fund garden party and wore it again to Royal Ascot in 2011 and 2015.

He said national governments around the world ”must choose action over apathy and commit to delivering Net Zero, reducing our reliance on oil and gas, and investing in the large-scale green projects we urgently need to cut emissions, adapt to extreme heat, and protect communities from flooding and wildfires”.

Cambridge University has defended its handling of Jason Arday and said he was provided with range of support before and after his resignation, The Times reports.

Prof Arday, who resigned earlier this month after a plagiarism row, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.

Prof Arday, a 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.

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.

An investigation at Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.

Academics and politicians have argued that Cambridge failed to take Prof Arday’s vulnerability seriously when he was appointed to a senior public-facing role in 2023, despite allegations being raised at the time. The allegations resurfaced last month and were widely reported in the press.

In a statement released to The Times, a university spokesperson said Prof Arday was given “the provision of counselling, support and advice, and ­security measures, including the installation of panic alarms and the screening of racist emails and post.”

The spokesperson added: “Our support continued in the face of intense public and media ­scrutiny and after his resignation.”

Following news of Mr Arday’s death, his family said they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”, in a statement issued through his publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

Reacting to news of his death, some MPs blamed the media for “hounding” Mr Arday, with Jeremy Corbyn saying the 41-year-old had been “turned into a pawn for vicious culture wars”.

But others, such as Conservative MP James Cleverly, said academic institutions had “serious questions to answer” for elevating Mr Arday into “positions he was clearly not qualified for”.

Cambridge’s vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said on Saturday: “My thoughts and deepest condolences are with Jason’s family and loved ones who, as they said last night, have lost a father, partner, brother, uncle and son.

“My immediate thoughts are also with colleagues and students who worked with Jason in the Faculty of Education, and at Jesus College where he was a Fellow.”

A police forensics tent has been erected in Levenshulme

A large cordon is in place as police are tonight responding to a major incident in south Manchester.

Pictures from the scene show a forensics tent erected in a park off Chapel Street in Levenshulme. Scene of crime officers were also spotted on Chapel Street, which has been taped off by police.

Concerned residents in the area started contacting the Manchester Evening News when they spotted a significant emergency service presence around the park on Saturday evening.

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The Manchester Evening News has asked Greater Manchester Police for a comment. This story will be updated when more information comes to light.

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