Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns after fraud allegations over fabricated credentials

The young black sociologist Jason Arday was seen as proof of Britain's success in the fight against racism. Now he has been exposed as a fraud.

By Dominic Johnson

Publication date: August 9, 2026 — 6:08 PM

The plagiarism accusation against Arday existed even when he applied to Cambridge. Photo: Joe Giddens/pa

When the brightest minds of a country collectively fall for a fraudster, it is embarrassing for everyone involved. Jason Arday, Professor of Sociology of Education at the British University of Cambridge, was practically idolized for years in progressive circles. Now he has lost his job and reputation, and no one wants to admit a mistake.

The story of the young black intellectual reads like a fairy tale — and unfortunately, it is one. In his own account, it goes like this:

• Born in 1985 as the child of Ghanaian immigrants in modest circumstances in South London
• Diagnosed with autism at age three
• Did not speak until he was 11 and did not learn to read and write until he was 18
• Developed epilepsy, had a brain tumor
• Became a sports teacher, worked temporarily as a volunteer development worker in Brazil
• Earned two university degrees in education
• Ran 30 marathons in 35 days to raise funds — the last nine with a broken leg

This got him on television. He carried the Olympic torch in London in 2012, and then wrote his doctoral thesis at the University of Liverpool in just two and a half years with the untranslatable title: An Exploration of Peer-Mentoring among Student Teachers' to Inform Reflective Practice within the Context of Action Research.

This paved the way for his career as a sociology lecturer and professorships in Durham and Glasgow. Arday became a sought-after expert on racism and "Critical Race Theory." When the highest chair in education at Cambridge became vacant in 2022, he applied and was unanimously awarded it. He took up the post in 2023 — a shooting star with which the venerable university adorned itself: racially and socially disadvantaged, plus neurodiverse.

When a former colleague claimed a few weeks ago that Arday's doctoral thesis was full of plagiarism, the University of Cambridge denounced a "smear campaign" and claimed that all allegations had long been refuted. A good week later, Arday resigned his professorship. Previously, he had admitted "mistakes" in an interview.

Critics have long doubted Arday's life story. Now, investigations reveal more of the fairy tale as a fairy tale every day:

• The volunteer work in Brazil? It didn't exist.
• Several visiting professorships? Also not.
• Great athletic achievements? Not as described.
• Autistic and mute? Schoolmates describe him as completely normal.

And so on.

The plagiarism accusation against Arday existed even when he applied to Cambridge. His unstructured lectures were off-putting, his students complained about him. Everything was brushed aside as racism. When the trade journal THES (Times Higher Education Supplement), where Arday had published, asked him questions about it, their reporter received no answer, but a visit from the police, who prohibited further contact.

The teaching establishment at Cambridge places great value on its good and, recently, progressive reputation. Sally Morgan, chair of the hiring panel for Arday, sits in the British House of Lords for the ruling Labour Party. As recently as the end of July, she praised Arday as "the best in the world."

Arday's first book was recommended by David Lammy, the highest-ranking black Labour politician, as "essential reading."

Morgan and the others must now ask themselves whether they hired Arday as...