Jason Arday family fundraiser reaches £30,000 after professor's death

A fundraising campaign for the family of Jason Arday, the former Cambridge University professor who died on Friday, has raised more than £30,000. The GoFundMe, launched by Windrush campaigner Sir Patrick Vernon, reached the sum within hours of going live on Saturday afternoon. It has since attracted over 1,100 donations, reaching 60% of its £50,000 target.

Arday, 44, resigned from his position as professor of sociology of education at Cambridge last week after allegations of plagiarism were made against him. Emergency services were called to an address in Battersea on Friday after reports of an unresponsive man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Tributes and allegations

Sir Patrick Vernon, who set up the fundraiser, said he had publicly supported Arday during the recent controversy. In a statement on the GoFundMe page, he wrote that he was concerned about the 'nature and intensity of the attacks directed towards him'. The fund is intended to cover funeral costs and provide practical support for Arday’s family.

I was one of the people who publicly supported Jason during the recent controversy because I was deeply concerned about the nature and intensity of the attacks directed towards him.

Sir Patrick Vernon, Windrush campaigner

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Stand Up To Racism has organised a vigil in Arday’s memory, scheduled for 6pm on Monday on the steps of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The group’s co-convenor, Weyman Bennett, said Arday’s death was the result of a 'racist witch hunt' by the right-wing press and politicians. He accused them of spreading 'the far right lie that black people are only appointed because of the colour of our skin, rather than our ability'.

Political and personal responses

Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Arday’s death as a 'tragedy' during a visit to Cornwall. He told reporters it was 'a moment for reflection, I would say, reflecting on how things came to this'. Burnham added that it was not a time for 'rushing to judgment'.

In the hours before his death, Arday told Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge, that he 'couldn’t go on'. Baron-Cohen told the BBC that Arday was subjected to 'relentless scrutiny, including ridicule' and was struggling with the loss of his career and reputation.

Arday’s family released a statement through his publisher, Simon & Schuster UK, on Friday. They said he had been subjected to a 'campaign of sustained abuse' since accepting his professorship at Cambridge more than three years ago. The family described Arday as a 'gentle man' who 'always wanted to see the best in everyone'. They asked for privacy and an end to what they called a 'campaign of harassment'.

What happens next

The vigil organised by Stand Up To Racism will go ahead as planned at 6pm on Monday at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The GoFundMe page remains open, with the target set at £50,000. No further statements from Arday’s family or Cambridge University have been issued since Friday.