Andy Burnham has called the death of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday a “tragedy” that should be a “moment for reflection”.

Prof Arday, who resigned after a plagiarism row, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.

He told a friend he “couldn’t go on” hours before he died after being subjected to intense scrutiny over his academic career.

The Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to Cornwall: “It’s a tragedy on so many levels, but particularly just for everybody who knew Jason, his family obviously, his friends. We think of think of them today.

“It’s not a moment for any rushing to judgment. It’s a moment for reflection, I would say, reflecting on how how things came to this.

“A really sad, sad and sorry state of affairs and I think we all today think of Jason, his contribution, and his family and friends.”

Prof Arday said he felt he “couldn’t go on” hours before he died, a friend revealed earlier on Saturday.

Prof Arday was pronounced dead after emergency services were called to Daley Thompson Way, in Battersea, just after 3pm on Friday to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.

The Metropolitan Police said his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.

Prof Arday last week resigned as professor of sociology of education at Cambridge.

A series of media reports alleged he plagiarised his PhD thesis – completed at Liverpool John Moores University – and other research.

Further questions were asked in the press about the truth of other claims he made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he had raised £5.5 million for charity.

An investigation at Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.

University of Cambridge professor, and director of the Autism Research Centre, Sir Simon Baron-Cohen told the BBC he spoke to Prof Arday on Friday morning.

Sir Simon told Radio 4’s Today programme: “He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life, and he wasn’t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he couldn’t go on.”

“He used those words in voice notes,” he added.

Sir Simon said: “At the heart of all of this was a man who’d been diagnosed in childhood with disabilities that included autism and language delay and learning differences.

“He was a vulnerable child, a vulnerable teenager, and a vulnerable adult, so he needed and deserved safeguarding and support and reasonable adjustment every step of the way.”

Sir Simon said Prof Arday was a “kind and gentle” man who had been “bombarded by every media outlet” and used as a “lightning rod” to examine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Sir Simon told the BBC that plagiarism allegations made by another academic, Nathan Cofnas – who has reportedly defined himself as a “race realist” – opened up a “media frenzy”.

He said: “Jason was being used as almost like a lightning rod to examine this policy of DEI, and Jason was bombarded by every media outlet to paint him as a fraud.”

The cognitive neuroscientist said he had grown concerned about the mental health of Prof Arday, a “vulnerable autistic man” that he could see was struggling.

Sir Simon said: “In the last 10 days, I’ve witnessed his mental health getting worse and worse, as the media didn’t stop ridiculing him, humiliating him, discrediting him.

“As I said, yesterday morning, his last voice note was that he just couldn’t go on.

“We need to let the investigations proceed, we need to understand how this tragedy has happened, but there has to be accountability at lots of levels.”

In a statement on Saturday, National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said Prof Arday had been subjected to “a public and brutal takedown that unleashed a tirade of racism”.

He added: “I don’t believe this was ever simply about ‘professional conduct’ or ‘plagiarism’.

“There is a profound difference between scrutiny and a sustained public campaign that turns an individual into a symbol of everything the right believes is wrong with DEI.

“The effect has been chilling. It tells black people and others from underrepresented backgrounds that entering prominent public positions will make you a target.

“A target not only for criticism of your work, but for a much broader political and cultural backlash.”

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