Thousands mourn Jason Arday in London vigil

Thousands of people gathered in central London to hold a vigil for former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, blaming racism and relentless media pressure for his death last week.

The vigil in central Trafalgar Square came as the head of Cambridge university condemned a "racist feeding frenzy" prompted by plagiarism claims against Mr Arday.

Mr Arday, who became Cambridge's youngest ever black professor when he was appointed in 2023, was found dead on Friday aged 41, after mounting accusations he had plagiarised parts of his doctoral thesis and exaggerated some of his personal life achievements.

Chris Smith, the University of Cambridge's chancellor, said that he believed it was important for such claims to be "rigorously investigated".

But, amid a media storm surrounding the accusations, Mr Smith added it was right to "refuse to join in a racist feeding frenzy over a particular academic".

Mr Arday, who was diagnosed with autism as a child, had disputed the allegations against him.

But he said in a public resignation letter on 5 August that he had "reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure".

The cause of his death has not been made public, with police saying that it was not suspicious and they were preparing a file for a coroner.

MP Diane Abbott, the first black woman ever elected to the UK parliament, told this evening's rally organised by campaign group Stand Up To Racism that she saw Mr Arday a week ago.

'Press harassment'

Stand Up To Racism said some 30,000 people attended today's rally, although that figure could not be confirmed.

Many were dressed in black, carrying roses and sunflowers as well as banners saying 'Rest in power Professor Jason Arday’.

Claire Lynch, 69, a retired teacher, said she had been "horrified" by what had happened to Mr Arday, saying he had been "hounded".

"I spent a lot of my life teaching my pupils that they could do anything, if they put their mind to it. And to see someone brought down who was doing exactly that - he would have been someone I was holding up as an example," she said.

Alex Pascall, 89, said Mr Arday's death should serve as a "wake-up" call, saying it was "time for these types of things to stop".

A separate, smaller vigil was also held in Cambridge today.

An online fundraising page created by racial equality campaigner Patrick Vernon to support Mr Arday's family had raised over £174,000 (€203,510.40) by this evening.

Separately, a petition demanding an immediate public inquiry into the media coverage of Mr Arday had gathered over 90,000 signatures late this evening including from Ms Abbott and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

Addressed to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the petition posted by activist group Good Law Project claimed Mr Arday's death was "the direct, foreseeable and foreseen result of press harassment".

Downing Street declined to say whether any inquiry was planned, repeating Mr Burnham's comments on Saturday that it was a time for "reflection".

The petition said Mr Arday's death came after "two weeks of relentless harassment", stressing that "racism lay at the heart of this story".

The university is also facing questions over its handling of the allegations and its treatment of Mr Arday.

Former students of Mr Arday have created a website called ‘Everything Good About Jason Arday’ asking people to share memories "about the kindest person we knew".

Last week, before the announcement of Mr Arday's death, Cambridge's vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice announced an investigation into the circumstances of his appointment and his time working at the university.