Cambridge University asks former chief crown prosecutor to open Arday review

The University of Cambridge has asked Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, to lead the first part of its review into the death of the scholar Jason Arday.

Arday died at his home in south London on 14 August, nine days after his resignation as a Cambridge professor amid swirling allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career.

Prof Deborah Prentice, Cambridge’s vice-chancellor, said the time since Arday’s death had been “a period of profound sadness and reflection” for the university, and she sought to defend her institution from criticism.

“We worked very hard to support Professor Arday during an appalling period of external criticism and focus but given the devastating outcome, we are all asking ourselves whether we could have and should have done more. This review will answer that question,” Prentice said.

“We are committed to ensuring that any recommendations arising from the review are addressed and adopted with clear accountability for delivering necessary changes.”

Arday was named professor of sociology of education at Cambridge in 2023, with the university highlighting his appointment as the university’s youngest ever black professor at the age of 37.

Arday denied accusations of plagiarism levelled against him but on 5 August the university said it would hold an investigation into his academic qualifications. Arday resigned hours after the investigation was announced.

Prentice said the review would be in two parts, with the first, led by Afzal, to focus on the support given to Arday in the immediate period before his death.

Afzal said: “I am honoured to have been asked to lead part one of this important independent review. At its heart is a person, a family and a community who have been profoundly affected by Professor Arday’s death. It is important that we approach this work with both rigour and humanity.

“My responsibility will be to listen carefully, examine the evidence thoroughly and understand what support, interventions and protections were available to Professor Arday in the period before his death. We must be willing to ask difficult questions, including whether more could and should have been done. This work will be conducted independently and with urgency.”

Afzal, a University of Birmingham graduate, is the chancellor of the University of Manchester, having been head of the CPS in the north-west of England during which he prosecuted child exploitation rings in Rochdale. In 2022 he led an independent review into London fire brigade that exposed a culture of misogyny, racism and bullying.

Prentice said: “I am very grateful to Nazir for agreeing to lead this part of the review. He is a highly respected legal professional who will ask challenging questions about the support that was offered to Professor Arday during his time at Cambridge.”

The university said the review’s second stage would consider “the wider context of Professor Arday’s time at the university”, including the recruitment of senior academic staff, the university’s response to allegations of research misconduct, and the support it gave to academics “subject to extraordinary public and media scrutiny”.

Cambridge said it would appoint an independent external chair for the second part and an expert panel “including individuals with lived experience” to advise the review.

It said part one of the review was expected to report within three months, and the second part within six months of establishing the expert panel.

Earlier this week, Jacqui Smith, the minister responsible for higher education, told parliament that she was “more than just keeping an eye” on Cambridge’s response to Arday’s death. Smith said England’s higher education regulator, the Office for Students, had the powers to investigate further if necessary.