Jason Arday, who became the University of Cambridge’s youngest black professor at 37, has been found dead at an address in Battersea, south London, four days after resigning from the university amid a plagiarism row.

Emergency services found Arday unresponsive on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said. His death was being treated as unexpected but was not believed to be suspicious.

Arday’s family said that they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”, adding that a “campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason”.

Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice has stated that the university was “desperately saddened” by the news and offered her sympathies to Arday’s family and friends.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said that she was “deeply shocked and saddened” and urged people to remember that “there are real people with loved ones involved”.

Arday resigned last week after allegations of plagiarism and questions over aspects of his academic achievements.

He denied plagiarism but acknowledged errors in his work, saying the controversy had subjected him to “an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack”.

The dispute began after academic Nathan Cofnas alleged numerous instances of plagiarism in Arday’s work.

Arday clarified that errors in some of his early academic writing were linked to his autism and his use of mimicry to make sense of information.

Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday his PhD in 2015, investigated claims concerning his thesis and concluded that he had not plagiarised work.

Cambridge nevertheless announced an independent investigation into his appointment earlier this week.

Arday’s appointment in 2023 was hailed as a significant moment, with Cambridge noting that only one percent of professors at UK universities are black.

Before entering academia, Arday worked as a physical education teacher. He later became an associate professor at Durham University and a professor of sociology of education at the University of Glasgow.

Arday’s memoir, Great And Unfortunate Things, was published in the United States this week and is due to be released in the UK on 27 August.