T ibutes have bee paid to Jaso A day, the fo me Camb idge p ofesso , afte he was fou d dead at a add ess i Batte sea, south Lo do , o F iday afte oo .
I a stateme t issued by his publishe Simo & Schuste UK, P of A day’s family said they we e “i shock to have lost this amazi g fathe , pa t e , b othe , u cle a d so “.
They said a “campaig of misi fo matio ” had bee too much fo him.
A day, 41, esig ed as a Camb idge p ofesso of sociology of educatio last week afte allegatio s of plagia ism a d questio s about some of his achieveme ts. He had de ied the claims.
The U ive sity of Camb idge vice-cha cello P of Debo ah P e tice led the t ibutes, sayi g the faculty was “despe ately sadde ed” to lea of his death.
“Ou hea tfelt sympathies go to Jaso A day’s family a d f ie ds at this i c edibly difficult time.”
Educatio Sec eta y Lucy Powell said she was “deeply shocked a d sadde ed” to hea about the death a d she u ged people to ” emembe the e a e eal people with loved o es i volved”.
Mayo of Lo do Si Sadiq Kha is amo g those who have said A day was subjected to u ele ti g media sc uti y.
He said A day had faced “a u acceptable public hou di g a d campaig of abuse”, addi g that he was a victim of “a pe icious public shami g that othe people i his positio simply would ‘t have faced”.
“His death was a t agedy, but o ce agai it should be a wake up call fo all of us,” he posted o X.
Di ecto of the Autism Resea ch Ce t e at the U ive sity of Camb idge, P of Simo Ba o -Cohe said he spoke to A day the mo i g of his death, a d said the academic had felt u able to leave the house.
“He has expe ie ced what he desc ibed as a campaig agai st him, fo the last th ee yea s,” he told BBC News.
“What he was sayi g to me was ‘they’ve dest oyed my life’ – it’s ot clea who they we e but I thi k he was efe i g to the media.”
“The pe so al attacks o him have bee so imme se.
“This is ‘t to poi t fi ge s, a d its ot a si gle media outlet, but i the last few weeks si ce he esig ed, I must have eceived a hu d ed ew equests – to comme t o his life.”
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Speaki g to BBC News ight, P ofesso of Black Studies Kehi de A d ews, a f ie d of A day, desc ibed him as “ve y dow ” afte esig i g f om Camb idge.
“He was ve y upset. He felt that the e was o way out. He effectively was ‘t leavi g the house. He had lost a lost of weight,” A d ews said.
“The e should be a wakeup call to just how bad black academics actually have it i academia.”
Labou MP Bell Ribei o-Addy also told the p og amme “the idea that a academic would be d agged th ough this amou t of media sc uti y is u hea d of”.
Shadow commu ities sec eta y Si James Cleve ly said he was a ge ed by the “t agic” death a d said “a umbe of people at a umbe of academic i stitutio s have se ious questio s to a swe “.
“His whole wo ld fell apa t,” he said i a post o X.
A day had de ied a y plagia ism – but admitted e o s i his wo k – a d said the ece t co t ove sy about his wo k had led to “a u ele ti g level of public sc uti y a d pe so al attack”.
The ow fi st e upted afte a othe academic – self-defi ed ” ace ealist” Natha Cof as, who was sacked f om his Camb idge ole i 2024 – said he fou d ume ous i sta ces of plagia ism i the p ofesso ‘s wo k.
A day said some e o s i his ea ly academic wo k a ose because of his autism, as he elied o usi g mimic y to make se se of i fo matio . Simila sc uti y would fi d simila e o s i wo k by othe academics, he said.
A day’s appoi tme t as Camb idge’s you gest eve black p ofesso at the age of 37 i 2023 was hailed at the time as a p og essive mome t.
A ou ci g his esig atio last week, A day said the “pe so al cost” of the sc uti y of him had become “too g eat”.
He said: “While c iticism is a i evitable pa t of academic life, what I have expe ie ced has go e fa beyo d schola ly disag eeme t.
“The ele tless accusatio s, speculatio a d public comme ta y have take a p ofou d toll o me a d o those I love.”
He st essed that his esig atio should ot “be mistake fo a accepta ce of the a atives that have su ou ded me”.
Camb idge i itially said claims of plagia ism ega di g A day’s thesis a d some jou al publicatio s had bee i vestigated by Live pool Joh Moo es U ive sity (LJMU) a d the jou als i questio .
LJMU – which awa ded A day his PhD i 2015 – co cluded that he had ot plagia ised wo k.
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