Andy Burnham calls Jason Arday’s death ‘a moment for reflection’

Open this photo in gallery:A person walks past Jesus College, where black academic Jason Arday was a Fellow, at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, eastern England. Cambridge's top administrator Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said Friday the UK university was 'desperately saddened' by his death.BROOK MITCHELL/AFP/Getty ImagesBritish Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Saturday the death of an academic – who was the University of Cambridge’s youngest ever Black professor but who resigned after accusations of plagiarism – was a tragedy that needed reflection.“It’s a tragedy on so many levels, but particularly just for everybody who knew Jason, his family obviously, his friends. We think of them today,” Burnham told broadcasters, a day after Jason Arday was found dead at the age of 41.Arday, who frequently appeared in the UK media, resigned as a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge earlier this month following the accusations. Arday’s family on Friday said he had been the victim of a campaign of misinformation and harassment.Opinion: The Jason Arday story was never going to be just about him. That’s a shame“It’s not a moment for any rushing to judgement,” Burnham said. “It’s a moment for reflection, I would say, reflecting on how things came to this.” Cambridge said this week it would investigate the circumstances of Arday’s appointment to the Faculty of Education and his work there after he faced accusations that parts of his PhD thesis were plagiarized, which he denied.