Politics Home | Cross-Party Group Of MPs Write To Press Regulator Over Jason Arday Coverage

Cross-party MPs and peers have written a letter, organised by Labour MP Afzal Khan, to IPSO concerning the treatment of Professor Jason Arday. (Alamy)

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In a letter to IPSO Chief Executive Charlotte Dewar, organised by Labour MP Afzal Khan and seen by PoliticsHome, more than 50 parliamentarians say reporting on the former Cambridge academic before his death “reached far beyond what can reasonably be perceived as conducive to the public interest in relation to his alleged plagiarism”. 

The letter argues it is “not unreasonable to suggest that the colour of Dr Arday’s skin was a contributing factor in garnering the level of media scrutiny he faced”, and that “Arday’s white counterparts at the University of Cambridge alone faced allegations that did not result in the same level of attention or affect.”

“His story went beyond the accusation of plagiarism and became one that critiqued him because he was Black,” the letter reads.

“Elements of the press repeatedly blamed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies as the reason he reached the status of professorship, and have hailed the allegations against him as to why promoting diversity leads institutions to failure.

“They framed the story of a single Black professor to discredit Black academia outright, suggesting that calls for diversity are leading institutions to prioritise the identity of an  individual to be more important than their academic record. This is in spite of the fact that only one per cent of UK professors are Black.”

The letter adds that IPSO owes it to Arday’s family and people nationwide who have been “devastated” by his death to say whether it believes the media coverage was “proportional, justified, and motivated by any reason other than the accusations of plagiarism levelled against him”.

Signatories include Labour MPs Tulip Siddiq, Kerry McCarthy, Paula Barker and Tan Dhesi; Green MPs Sian Berry and Hannah Spencer; Plaid’s Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts; and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Khan, the Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, told PoliticsHome the group decided to send the letter because “a vulnerable Black man is dead after a relentless attack on him as a person, for what he stood for, and for what he represented.”

“Letting the press off from being held accountable for what they’ve contributed towards is an invite to them to do it again,” he said.

“The press never fail to put clicks and views ahead of their ability to even think about the effects of their words and actions – this is yet another example. Each and every one of them who continued to attack Jason after they knew full well the effect it was having on him should be deeply ashamed.”

Arday, 41, was found dead at an address in south London on Friday following extensive media coverage of his academic and personal life following allegations of plagiarism.

The academic became the youngest black professor in Cambridge’s 800-year history when the University appointed him in 2023.

He stepped down from his professor role in early August amid allegations of plagiarism, which he denied, with Cambridge later opening an independent investigation into his appointment. 

Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday his PHD in 2015, had previously concluded that the academic had not plagiarised work.

The allegations prompted media coverage of his academic work as well as disputed claims he made about his life and achievements. For example, former schoolmates challenged Arday’s claim in his autobiography Great And Unfortunate Things that he was non-verbal until nearly 12 years old, though other former schoolmates provided accounts that supported it.

In his resignation letter, Arday said what he had experienced went “beyond scholarly disagreement” and that “the relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”

He added that he had “reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure”. 

Dr Simon Baron-Cohen, Arday’s friend and director of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre, publicly expressed concern about the behaviour of the media before Arday’s death. Posting on the social media platform X, Baron-Cohen said that Arday was autistic, that his own research found autistic people were at higher risk of suicide, and described “relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man” that “raises safeguarding issues”. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Arday’s death “was a tragedy, on so many levels”, and called for a “moment of reflection” to reflect on “how things came to this”. 

A vigil was held for Arday in London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday, organised by Stand Up To Racism, with attendees including Arday’s constituency MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy and long-serving Labour MP Diane Abbott.