UK: 31,000 sign petition for inquiry into media treatment of Dr. Jason Ardey

More than 31,000 people, including several Members of Parliament, have signed a petition calling on British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to launch a public inquiry into the treatment of the late academic Dr. Jason Ardey.

The petition, organized by the Good Law Project, follows the discovery of Ardey’s body at his home in Battersea, South London. The organization claims his death was an “immediate, foreseeable and expected consequence of the media campaign of harassment” and asserts that his skin color played a decisive role in this pursuit.

Dr. Ardey, who was the youngest Black professor in the history of the University of Cambridge, had recently resigned from the university and his position at Jesus College. These resignations followed investigations into allegations of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis and claims regarding his personal background, such as his assertion of running 30 marathons in 35 days for charity. While police have stated that his death is not currently considered suspicious, an investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause.