Jason Arday was the youngest Black professor in Cambridge's history - appointed in 2023, at 37, as professor of sociology of education. Two days ago he was found dead at his home in the London district of Battersea. He was 41. He resigned this month, after British media had spent weeks writing about plagiarism allegations and supposed inconsistencies in his biography.

The university is now defending itself. Cambridge said it had provided him with extensive psychological support and security - including the installation of an alarm and the screening of his post and emails because of racist threats. That is a long list of measures. That list is also an admission: somebody inside that institution knew exactly how serious what was happening to him was.

The investigation that changed direction twice

Arday was accused of plagiarising another academic's work in his doctoral thesis, which he denied. An investigation by Liverpool John Moores University this year upheld the decision to award the doctorate.

When the allegations surfaced in July, Cambridge said it had examined the claims and found no irregularities. At that point they described him as the victim of a „disgusting campaign to damage his reputation”. This month, the same university announced a new investigation, saying it had received „new information” about his qualifications and career.

Three positions in a few months: no irregularities, he is the victim of a campaign, we are opening a new investigation. The investigation is now temporarily paused while the family grieves, with a decision on whether it continues to be taken later. The question left hanging is whether the institution ever knew what it was doing to the man in the middle.

„A lightning rod for the culture war”

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a friend and former colleague, told Times Radio he nevertheless believes the university should continue the investigation. „We have to see what we can learn from this. That is the purpose of investigations,” he said.

The same man asked something else - whether the media had failed in their duty to protect Arday as a vulnerable person with a disability. In his view, Arday faced racist attacks and became „a lightning rod for the culture war against diversity, equality and inclusion policies”.

The Stand Up to Racism campaign is holding a vigil tomorrow at 6pm on the steps of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Co-founder Weyman Bennett said in a statement that the death was „the result of a racist witch hunt” and that „for more than a week right-wing media, politicians and the far right hounded Jason with the worst kind of racism”.

Who answers when nobody answers

Some academics and politicians have asked whether Cambridge took Arday's vulnerability seriously when it appointed him to a prominent public role in 2023 - at a time when the university was facing criticism over a lack of diversity in senior positions. Simon Woolley, principal of Homerton College and his former mentor, called for an investigation into the „brutal media attack”.

Cambridge's vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, expressed condolences and said support for the community was an absolute priority. The family, through the publisher Simon & Schuster which released his memoir in the US this week, said they were in shock at the loss and that he had been subjected to a campaign of relentless abuse for more than three years. More than 65,000 pounds have been raised for funeral costs and support for the family.

There will be a report, probably recommendations too. What there will not be is the man who spent three years in the middle of all this while everyone around him issued statements about how much they supported him.