Professor Jason Arday, who became the youngest Black person ever appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge, has been found dead at a property in Battersea, South London.
The 41-year-old academic, who was born in London to Ghanaian parents, was found unresponsive on Friday. Police are treating his death as unexpected but not suspicious.
Arday had recently been at the centre of intense scrutiny over allegations of plagiarism in his PhD thesis and questions surrounding some of his reported academic and personal achievements. Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded his PhD, had previously cleared him of misconduct over the plagiarism allegations.
The controversy attracted intense criticism and widespread media scrutiny, both in the UK and internationally, particularly from right-leaning media outlets and commentators in the UK, the United States and Australia. Arday subsequently resigned from his professorship at Cambridge amid the growing controversy.
Police say a file will be prepared for the coroner as inquiries surrounding his unexpected death continue.
More details to follow.