A close friend of former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has spoken about their final exchanges before the academic’s death at the age of 41, saying Arday appeared overwhelmed by the pressure surrounding him in the days before he died.
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Arday was pronounced dead after emergency services were called to an address in London on Friday evening, August 14, following reports that a man was unresponsive at the property.
An official cause of death has not yet been announced.
His death came about a week after he resigned from his position at the University of Cambridge following allegations of plagiarism, allegations which he had denied.
Professor Kehinde Andrews, a friend of Arday, appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, August 17, where he spoke with presenters Richard Madeley and Ranvir Singh about their final meeting and conversations.
Andrews said the last time he saw Arday was the previous Monday and that he had noticed a significant change in his friend’s appearance.
According to him, Arday had lost weight and appeared to be struggling under considerable pressure.
“He was just completely overwhelmed, I think,” Andrews said.
Recalling one of the last messages he received from Arday, he added: “One of the last texts he said to me was that he just couldn’t see a way out; he couldn’t see a way forward.”
Madeley noted during the programme that although the official cause of Arday’s death had yet to be established, speculation had already begun surrounding the circumstances.
Andrews subsequently spoke about what he described as the intense pressure generated by media and social media coverage of the academic in recent years.
He referred particularly to Arday’s resignation from Cambridge and the financial and family pressures he believed the situation had created.
“Losing his job at Cambridge, having to resign, putting financial pressure on his family. This is somebody who has two children, with one child going into university,” Andrews said.
“Imagine all that pressure on you, and you feel stuck and can’t go ahead.”
His comments were an assessment of the pressures Arday was facing and not a medical determination of the cause of his death, which remains officially unannounced.
The death has also prompted calls from some figures for a public inquiry into aspects of press conduct surrounding the treatment of Arday, with Andrews among those reported to have supported the call.
Meanwhile, Arday’s family has issued an emotional statement through his publisher, Simon & Schuster UK, describing him as an “amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.”
The family said it remained in shock over his death.
According to the statement, Arday had endured what his relatives described as a sustained campaign of abuse since accepting his professorial position at Cambridge University.
“Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him,” the family said.
They further alleged that misinformation surrounding Arday had placed an overwhelming burden on him.
“The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,” the statement continued.
“We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.”
Arday’s death follows an intense period of public scrutiny surrounding allegations about his academic work and personal history.
He had resigned from Cambridge shortly before his death after plagiarism allegations emerged, although he denied deliberately engaging in plagiarism or academic dishonesty.
His death has now shifted attention from the controversy surrounding his academic career to questions about the effect of sustained public scrutiny on individuals and the responsibilities of both traditional and social media.
For Andrews, the loss is deeply personal, with his account of Arday’s final days portraying a friend he believed had become increasingly overwhelmed by professional, financial and personal pressures.
Arday’s family has similarly sought to place his death within the context of what it described as years of sustained attacks and misinformation, while remembering him primarily as a father, partner, brother, uncle and son.
However, pending an official determination, the cause of Jason Arday’s death remains unconfirmed.
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