The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that officers attended a property on Daley Thompson Way in Battersea on Friday afternoon, where a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. The man has been identified as Professor Jason Arday, the Cambridge academic who resigned earlier this month following allegations of plagiarism.
Police statement
In a statement, the force said: "Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 15:12hrs on Friday, 14 August following a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property on Daley Thompson Way, SW8.
"Sadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.
"At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious. The case is being investigated by officers from the Met's Central South Command Unit. A file will be prepared for the coroner."
Ambulance response
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called at 3.06pm on Friday 14 August to reports of an incident on Daley Thompson Way, SW8. We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic in a fast response car and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team. Sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene."
Background
Prof Arday, a sociology of education academic who made history as Cambridge's youngest black professor in 2023, stepped down following a series of media reports alleging he had plagiarised his PhD thesis — completed at Liverpool John Moores University — along with other research. Further scrutiny emerged in the press regarding the veracity of other claims attributed to him, including assertions that he had run 600 miles in six days and raised £5.5 million for charitable causes, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
An investigation conducted by Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of any wrongdoing. Durham and Glasgow universities are currently examining the circumstances surrounding Prof Arday's appointments to academic positions there, while Cambridge's Jesus College has accepted his resignation from his fellowship, according to Prof Prentice.
In his open resignation letter, Prof Arday stated that the "only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away". He said: "This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me. It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure."
At the weekend, he cancelled events scheduled to promote his forthcoming memoir. Publisher Simon and Schuster had previously confirmed that the book, Great And Unfortunate Things, was due for release in the UK on 27 August.
