Senior academics set out key questions Cambridge must answer over Jason Arday’s death

Academics say it is not clear how Cambridge’s proposed review will answer difficult questions about its involvement in events leading up to Arday’s death. Photograph: Chris Radburn/AFP/Getty Images

Senior Cambridge academics have criticised the university’s plans to investigate Prof Jason Arday’s death as inadequate, and said those responsible for “serious failures of leadership” should face consequences.

In a letter to Chris Smith, Cambridge’s chancellor, the academics said “it is not yet clear” how the proposed review will answer difficult questions about the university’s involvement in the events leading up to Arday’s death, including its handling of the criticism Arday suffered after his appointment as professor of sociology of education in 2023.