The University of Cambridge announced today that it will review how senior academics are appointed following the Jason Arday plagiarism scandal.

Officials confirmed the investigation into its youngest ever black professor would ‘feed into a review of the process for the appointment of senior academic roles’.

Professor Arday resigned on Wednesday after Cambridge revealed it had opened an investigation into ‘new information’ about his academic qualifications.

Today, the university said in a statement: ‘For clarification, the university will continue to investigate the circumstances around Jason Arday’s appointment and tenure. 

‘The findings will feed into a review of the process for the appointment of senior academic roles. In addition, and as previously stated, the university’s research policy committee will review the Misconduct in Research policy.’

It comes as Cambridge academics have turned on their own bosses, claiming Jason Arday’s appointment went ‘very badly wrong’ and management must now take the blame.

A joint letter now circulating among Cambridge colleges and signed by senior dons calls for an independent inquiry into the processes and circumstances that led to Professor Arday’s appointment, taking the investigation out of the university’s hands.

The scandal has fuelled accusations that Cambridge had prioritised diversity and inclusion over academic rigour and its global reputation – and used Professor Arday as a ‘quick fix’ to improve staff diversity – now making the university a ‘global laughing stock’.

Priyamvada Gopal, the English faculty’s Left-wing Professor of Postcolonial Studies and one of the leading academics organising the letter, said of the university’s decision to hold an internal inquiry: ‘This requires accountability now from those responsible, not a cover-up.’

She also claimed Cambridge had been tempted to ‘cut corners on the hard work of fostering equality and inclusion’ with his appointment three years ago.

Also today, it emerged that Cambridge academic Hilary Cremin gave Professor Arday her ‘full support’ after two academics raised concerns about his work.

Professor Cremin, head of the faculty of education at Cambridge, appears to have downplayed evidence that was presented to her in 2023 about alleged plagiarism.

Two months previously, she had welcomed Professor Arday to his new role, saying in a BBC film: ‘We are so lucky to have you. You are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do.’

The concerns were raised by Dr David Harris, an academic at Plymouth Marjon University who had been reviewing Professor Arday’s work as part of a wider research project; and Professor Martyn Hammersley, a sociologist at Open University.

A Cambridge University boss gave Professor Jason Arday (pictured) her ‘full support’ after two academics raised concerns about his work, it has emerged

Professor Hilary Cremin (pictured), head of the faculty of education at Cambridge, appears to have downplayed evidence that was presented to her in 2023 about alleged plagiarism

Emails show Professor Cremin responded to them by stating that she had held a meeting with Professor Arday regarding the article in question, which had been published in 2018.

She also said that after the meeting, Professor Arday had decided to ‘take the article down from the journal online platform in order to address concerns and re-upload it’.

She went on to write that during the meeting, ‘Arday spoke movingly about his ongoing experiences of direct and indirect racism, and the conditions that he was living in whilst the 2018 article was being prepared (in 2016). At this time he was early career and living away from home whilst dealing with significant health issues,’ according to The Times.

She said that though the university took allegations of plagiarism seriously, ‘we remain immensely proud of Prof Arday’s achievements and scholarship, and … he has our full support’.

Professor Cremin concluded her email by saying ‘we very much hope that this matter has been addressed to your satisfaction’.

Professor Hammersley responded by saying he did not feel the matter had been dealt with satisfactorily and said he believed a ‘systematic investigation of Professor Arday’s other publications’ should be undertaken.

That Professor Arday had decided to withdraw his article from the online journal, he added, showed that the plagiarism claims were not ‘mere allegation but a proven case’. He did not receive a reply.

Professor Arday, 41, was appointed to Cambridge after applying for a vacant professorship in the faculty of education.

He was selected by an independent panel of nine members, known as the board of electors, chaired by Baroness Morgan of Huyton, a Labour peer and master of Fitzwilliam College.

Professor Harris and Professor Hammersley brought their concerns to Professor Cremin after Professor Harris wrote to Professor Arday directly asking him to clear up ‘certain oddities and confusion’ that he had come across while reading his work.

In particular Professor Harris highlighted a number of similarities between a 2018 paper published by Professor Arday and a study by the renowned epidemiologist Anjum Memon and his team. 

Two months previously, she had welcomed Professor Arday to his new role saying in a BBC film: ‘We are so lucky to have you. You are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do.’ Pictured: Professor Arday in 2023

Pictured: Professor Arday’s memoir Great And Unfortunate Things 

‘Please note I have not suggested any explanations for these occurrences, and I am aware that several possibilities are available,’ he concluded the email with.

Professor Arday did not initially respond, but wrote back a week later after Professor Harris sent a follow-up message. 

He did not engage with any of Professor Harris’s critiques and instead accused him of acting ‘without any reflexivity or humility whatsoever’.

Professor Arday wrote: ‘Instead of spending your time trying to dismantle racism and ableism, you have spent what I assume is hours combing through my work looking for mistakes and then reporting them to various institutions. 

‘I have no problem with constructive criticism, but the tone of your emails are unkind and hostile. 

‘You are a monument to the fact we live in a society where grammar is valued above equity. If only all academics were as diligent in their fight for equality as you have been in attending to my spelling.’

He asked him not to write to him again, saying that ‘anything further from you will be considered bullying and harassment’.

When Professor Harris did write again, prefacing his email by stating his admiration for him, Professor Arday reported him to the police for harassment. 

Devon and Cornwall Police later declined to pursue the case.

Arday made a similar complaint last year against Jack Grove, a journalist at Times Higher Education magazine, after he began investigating the academic’s record. 

Yesterday, Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, admitted the force ‘dropped the ball’ when it spent four months investigating the journalist.

Speaking to the BBC in 2023, Professor Cremin, who was not one of the panel members, said that the board of electors had been ‘unanimous’ in their support for Professor Arday’s application.

Professor Arday resigned from his position on Wednesday after days of scrutiny over allegations of plagiarism, which he has denied. 

Cambridge had begun an investigation because it said new information had emerged about his ‘academic qualifications and honorary appointments’. The investigation will continue despite his resignation.

Neither Baroness Morgan nor any other of the panel members responded to a request for comment as to the basis on which they chose Professor Arday. 

An email sent to Professor Cremin asking for comment received an automated out-of-office response.