Cambridge asks former chief prosecutor to lead first stage of Arday death review

Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, will lead the first part of Cambridge University’s review into the death of scholar Jason Arday.

Arday died at his south London home on 14 August, nine days after resigning as a Cambridge professor. His resignation followed the university’s announcement of an investigation into his academic qualifications, amid allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career. Arday denied the plagiarism allegations.

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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.

The first stage of the review will focus on the immediate period before his death, including the support, interventions and protections available to him. Afzal said the process would examine the evidence carefully and ask whether more could and should have been done.

“I am honoured to have been asked to lead part one of this important independent review,” Afzal said. “At its heart is a person, a family and a community who have been profoundly affected by Professor Arday’s death.” He said the work would be conducted “independently and with urgency.”

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This review will answer that question.

Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said the university had tried to support Arday during what she called an “appalling period of external criticism and focus,” but said the outcome had prompted questions about whether more help should have been provided. She described the period since his death as one of “profound sadness and reflection.”

The review will have two parts. Cambridge said Afzal would lead the first, while further details of the second stage were not provided in the supplied material. Afzal is also chancellor of the University of Manchester. He previously led the Crown Prosecution Service in north-west England and conducted an independent review of the London Fire Brigade in 2022 that exposed allegations of misogyny, racism and bullying. Arday became Cambridge’s youngest-ever Black professor in 2023, at the age of 37.

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This work will be conducted independently and with urgency.