Ex-Cambridge professor embroiled in 'plagiarism' row 'accused student of racism' after she questioned mark

Further questions were asked in the press about the truth of other claims he made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he had raised £5.5million for charity.

Now, an anonymous writer who claims to be a pupil during his 2018 tenure at the University of Roehampton has described Mr Arday's teaching as "terrible".

Writing for UnHerd, the pupil, who studied the Youth Participation and Identities module at the west London university, said: "I can honestly describe Arday’s teaching as terrible.

"He rarely used the PowerPoint slides. Instead, he usually sat casually on a desk, giving his generalised views on racism without ever referring to any academic theories — let alone those relevant to the “Youth Participation and Identities” module he was supposed to be teaching."

The pupil, writing under the pseudonym "Fiona Brown", claimed Mr Arday gave her a mark of 70 per cent for the final essay on the module, which she suggests was below her average for the year.

When she subsequently asked him for a meeting to provide feedback, the former pupil suggested her "demeanor changed."

Jason Arday has resigned from his post

PA

The former pupil said: "I now saw a side of him I’d never seen before: angry, but also scared.

"Mr Arday implied that I was racist and said that the only reason I wasn’t happy with 70 per cent was due to my 'white privilege'.

"He was clearly upset at being questioned and I ended the meeting as quickly as possible."

She suggested Mr Arday left Roehampton shortly after, alleging that "he could neither teach nor support his students, it’s little wonder that he appeared psychologically incapable of coping with criticism."

GB News has contacted representatives of Mr Arday for comment.

Mr Arday, a professor of sociology of education who became Cambridge’s youngest black professor in 2023, resigned from his post on Wednesday evening after the university launched an inquiry into his "academic qualifications and honorary appointments".

In a letter addressed to colleagues published on the Good Law Project’s website, Mr Arday said: "While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement.

"The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”

Professor Arday said that the “only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away”, adding: “This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge.

"Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me. It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure."

His resignation comes shortly after the University of Cambridge announced it had launched an investigation "following new information about Professor Arday’s academic qualifications and honorary appointments".

A statement said: "Separately, there remains a number of ongoing complaints regarding academic misconduct, which are being handled in line with our misconduct in research policy."

Jesus College said in a statement that it was launching its own process in relation to the allegation.

Mr Arday’s memoir, Great And Unfortunate Things, is due to be published by Simon & Schuster later this month.