LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)—Thousands of people gathered in central London late Monday to hold a vigil for black academic 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 Monday condemned a “racist feeding frenzy” prompted by plagiarism claims against Arday.

Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor when he was appointed in 2023, was found dead 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, told the BBC he believed it was important for such claims to be “rigorously investigated”.

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

Arday, who was diagnosed with autism and other developmental difficulties as a child, had disputed the allegations against him.

But he said in a public resignation letter on August 5 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 only it was not suspicious and they were preparing a file for a coroner.

Arday’s family did not attend the vigil, but issued a statement that was read to the crowd, thanking supporters for their “love, support, and grief”.

“The public cruelty Jason was subjected to was too much for any man to bear,” they said, describing Arday as a “selfless and gentle soul”.

“His achievements were great, and we do not want misrepresentations about his character to overshadow them,” the family said.

His friend Jonathan Miller, deputy head of Froebel College, University of Roehampton, said he was grateful so many turned out to honour Arday.

“It’s just crying shame that brilliant man has felt that he had nowhere to turn,” Miller told AFP.

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

“He felt he had no choice but to resign. And he must have felt that if he resigned, the attacks on him would stop. But, in fact, they got even worse from his resignation to his suicide last week,” she said.

“It wasn’t just a campaign against the professor. 
It was a campaign against all of us.”

– ‘Press harassment’ –

Stand Up To Racism said some 30,000 people attended Monday’s rally, although AFP could not immediately confirm the figure.

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 dyslexia teacher, told AFP she had been “horrified” by what had happened to 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.”

Alex Pascall, 89, said Arday’s death should serve as a “wake-up” call, saying it was “time for these type of things to stop”.

A separate, smaller vigil was also held in Cambridge on Monday.

An online fundraising page created by racial equality campaigner Patrick Vernon to support Arday’s family had raised over £174,000 ($218,000) by Monday evening.

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

Addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the petition posted by activist group Good Law Project claimed Arday’s death was the result of “press harassment”.

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

The petition said 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 Arday.

Last week, before the announcement of 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.