Cambridge professor Jason Arday has defended his academic work following online criticism and allegations of plagiarism. Arday admitted to making errors but asserted he is not a liar.
The controversy has drawn varied responses, including from within the academic community. More than 12,000 individuals, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, several Labour MPs, and some Cambridge academics, have signed a petition initiated by the Good Law Project in support of Arday.
Kehinde Andrews, professor of black studies at Birmingham City University, described the criticism as a "smear campaign" that was "as predictable as it is baseless." Alan Lester, a geography professor at the University of Sussex specializing in colonialism, characterized the situation as a "non-story."
Simon Baron-Cohen, a cognitive neuroscientist and fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, expressed concern over the media coverage's impact on Arday. "We should of course always investigate plagiarism to protect academic standards," he stated. "However, I cannot stand by and watch when an autistic man is on the ground and the kicking continues. This is relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man and raises safeguarding issues. It's time to stop."
However, some academics maintain that questions regarding academic propriety remain. John Preston, an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Essex, commented that "there is a case to answer here." He added, "Mistakes happen. If sociology of education is to ever be a field with any credibility, we need to be able to point these out, correct them, and move on," noting that "there is no personal shame in making mistakes and admitting them."
A Cambridge University spokesperson indicated that the institution takes allegations of academic misconduct "incredibly seriously." They noted that it is "standard practice" for investigations into research to be conducted by the institution where the research was performed. The spokesperson confirmed that "allegations of plagiarism regarding Professor Arday's thesis and some of his journal publications have been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University and the journals in question."