Cambridge Asks Ex-prosecutor Nazir Afzal to Lead Arday Death Review

Arday died at his home in south London on 14 August, nine days after his resignation as a Cambridge professor amid allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career. Prof Deborah Prentice, Cambridge's vice-chancellor, said the time since Arday's death had been "a period of profound sadness and reflection" for the university. "We worked very hard to support Professor Arday during an appalling period of external criticism and focus but given the devastating outcome, we are all asking ourselves whether we could have and should have done more.

This review will answer that question," she said. Arday was named professor of sociology of education at Cambridge in 2023, with the university highlighting his appointment as its youngest-ever black professor at the age of 37. He denied the accusations of plagiarism but on 5 August the university said it would hold an investigation into his academic qualifications. Arday resigned hours after the investigation was announced.

Prentice said the review would be in two parts, with the first, led by Afzal, to focus on the support given to Arday in the immediate period before his death. Afzal said: "I am honoured to have been asked to lead part one of this important independent review. At its heart is a person, a family and a community who have been profoundly affected by Professor Arday's death.

It is important that we approach this work with both rigour and humanity. Afzal, a University of Birmingham graduate, is the chancellor of the University of Manchester, after a career as head of the CPS in north-west England, during which he prosecuted child exploitation rings in Rochdale. In 2022 he led an independent review into London fire brigade that exposed a culture of misogyny, racism and bullying.

The university said the review's second stage would consider "the wider context of Professor Arday's time at the university, including the recruitment of senior academic staff, the university's response to allegations of research misconduct, and the support it gave to academics "subject to extraordinary public and media scrutiny". Cambridge said it would appoint an independent external chair for the second part and an expert panel "including individuals with lived experience" to advise the review. Part one was expected to report within three months, and the second part within six months of establishing the expert panel.

Earlier this week, Jacqui Smith, the minister responsible for higher education, told parliament that she was "more than just keeping an eye" on Cambridge's response to Arday's death, and that England's higher education regulator, the Office for Students, had the powers to investigate further if necessary. Prentice said: I am very grateful to Nazir for agreeing to lead this part of the review. He is a highly respected legal professional who will ask challenging questions about the support that was offered to Professor Arday during his time at Cambridge.