Jason Arday’s family say ‘public cruelty’ he faced ‘was too much to bear’ | News UK

Jason Arday’s family have spoken out at a London vigil honouring the former Cambridge University professor who died last week.

He died days after resigning from his role as a professor at Cambridge, one he took on in 2023 as its youngest-ever Black professor.

The 41-year-old academic had faced criticism concerning his PhD thesis, other work, and accounts of his personal achievements.

A vigil was held in London’s Trafalgar Square, organised by the group Stand Up to Racism, with those close to Arday speaking at the event.

Organisers said more than 30,000 people gathered outside the National Gallery to pay tribute to the late academic; many wore black and brought flowers.

Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy read a statement on behalf of his family, which said ‘the public cruelty Jason was subjected to was too much for any man to bear’.

The statement continued: ‘What has become clear over the past 72 hours is the profound impact he had on people’.

‘A selfless and gentle soul, he tirelessly uplifted others through his words and actions,’ they continued. ‘His achievements were great and we do not want misrepresentations about his character to overshadow them.’

They appealed for him to be remembered ‘for the wonderful person he was and all that he achieved’.

Other speakers included MPs Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, along with crossbench peer Lord Woolley and director of the Good Law Project Jo Maugham.

Lord Woolley, who was a friend of Arday’s, called the criticism of the professor a ‘public execution’ and a ‘lynching’, to cheers from the crowd.

He shared how he had dinner with Diane Abbott and activistMisan Harriman just last week, during which Arday had said: ‘They’re hounding me to death’.

Lord Woolley said: ‘We held him in our arms. We told him he was loved. He held Diane’s (Abbott) hands, and he said, “I love you, but”, he said, “they’re hounding me to death, and I cannot see a way out”.’

Recalling his friend, the crossbencher called Arday a ‘wonderful man’, adding: ‘Never stole a bag of crisps. He was exonerated from plagiarism.

‘But the dogs of hell, the hounds of hell, sought to pursue any inaccuracy that they could say Jason is a bad man, Jason doesn’t deserve to be in Cambridge.

‘For them, Jason doesn’t deserve to be alive. There needs to be some reckoning. There needs to be some justice.’

During her speech, Abbott said Arday was the subject of a ‘vicious’ and ‘bitter’ campaign, by people who did not believe a black man should be a Cambridge professor.

She said: ‘He must have felt that if he resigned the attacks on him would stop, but in fact they got even worse. From his resignation to his suicide last week, was just three weeks, but the newspapers printed 249 articles about him.

‘This was a vicious campaign but it wasn’t just a campaign against the professor, it was a campaign against all of us and that’s why it is so important to come together and fight for justice for Professor Jason Arday.’

One attendee was holding a cardboard sign which read ‘249 articles in 22 days’ which is believed to be a reference to analysis of media coverage conducted by NewsCord, an AI-based media analysis company.

More than 90,000 people, including Abbott, Green Party leader Zack Polanski and presenter Jameela Jamil, have signed a Good Law Project petition seeking an inquiry into coverage of Prof Arday, which says his death followed ‘two weeks of relentless harassment’.

In addition, Sir Patrick Vernon, who played a leading role in the successful campaign to establish a national Windrush Day, set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page, which has collected more than £170,000 in donations.

The crowd, dressed mostly in black, held flowers and signs which read ‘Rest in power Jason Arday’, and calls for ‘justice’ rang out through the square.

In their statement, the family concluded: ‘The outpouring of love, support and grief since his death mean so much to us.

‘Although it is bittersweet, now kindness is needed in life, not just in death. We’ll never know what might have been different had he experienced more of it while he was still here.’

Flowers were laid at the foot of Nelson’s Column by the vigil attendees as they left the square.

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