United Kingdom politicians and celebrities are calling for an “immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press” following the death of Jason Arday, the youngest Black professor at Cambridge University who resigned amid accusations of plagiarism.

About 30,000 individuals signed the petition urging the prime minister order an enquiry into how Mr Arday’s controversy was reported. The request to the prime minister claimed he died after “two weeks of relentless harassment.” The request originated from Good Law Project, the company representing Mr Arday before his demise.  

Principal of Cambridge’s Homerton College, Lord Woolley, said Mr Arday was placed under a “vicious witch hunt.”

Mr Arday endured accusations of embellishing his achievements and plagiarising his citations which ultimately prompted Cambridge to announce an  investigation into his credentials last week. He denied the accusations and resigned hours after the probe was announced.

On Friday, his lifeless body was found in his apartment.

The UK Telegraph cited the book Mr Arday listed in his portfolio to apply for professorship into Cambridge, reporting that it had yet been published. The book titled, “Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse,” has Palgrave as its publisher.

Checks by UK Telegraph showed that the book had not yet been published.

“Palgrave Macmillan, an academic and trade publishing company, accepted Mr Arday’s proposal for the book but did not publish it,” the newspaper said.

Durham University, Mr Arday’s former workplace, defended him that it was “standard practice for academics to list forthcoming books or manuscripts on their web pages,” the Telegraph said.

Cambridge University announced a probe into Mr Arday’s works shortly after The Telegraph published its story.