Cambridge's youngest black professor says pig's head was sent to parents' home but police deny claim

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and GLEN KEOGH, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT and SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:36, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 00:36, 2 August 2026 The University of Cambridge's youngest ever black professor says a pig's head was sent to his parents' London home in a large cardboard box amid a row over allegations of plagiarism for which he was later cleared.  Professor Jason Arday, 41, has been at the centre of allegations of plagiarism which his critics claim are the subject of a cover-up. Meanwhile, his supporters say he is being unfairly treated and targeted due to his race. The professor, who was appointed to Cambridge at just 37, has had a remarkable life that, according to countless talks he has given, has seen him overcome a whole raft of challenges.  Raised on a housing estate in Clapham, south London, by working-class immigrants from Ghana, he was diagnosed with autism, global development delay and dyslexia at a young age, and was all but non-verbal until the age of 11. He has described only learning to properly read and write at 18, but, in part thanks to the determination of his mother, went on to enrol in a BTech course at a local college before studying for a degree in PE and teaching, followed by two Master's and, ultimately, a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University. He taught at four different universities prior to his appointment at Cambridge, but his elevation to such a high-profile academic institution sparked intense scrutiny, which first led to allegations of plagiarism in his 2015 PhD thesis last year.  Amid the recent furore, Arday confessed he has made mistakes in his career but denies all claims that he has lied. And now, in an interview with the Guardian, has alleged that he has been at the receiving end of physical abuse and intimidation.  In an open letter, addressed to government minister Jacqui Smith in July 2025, the 41-year-old alleged he had been 'spat on', assaulted, threatened with a blade and that both he and his family had been subject to rape and death threats. He also claimed that he had been sent bullets and bananas via the university campus, and that 'poison' and a pig's head had been sent to his family's home in South London.  Arday alleged in an interview with THe Guardian that he had intercepted the delivery and told police months later, sparking a probe which he says found a local butcher had sold a whole pig's carcass the day the package was delivered.  Meanwhile, the Metropolitan police told the publication that his claims were 'categorically incorrect', and that no probe had ever happened. The butchers named by Arday reportedly they were not visited by officers asking about a pig. He also reportedly never took any pictures of the banana, bullets, the animal's head or corrosive substance he supposedly received, with only close family members said to have seen them.  Professor Jason Arday, 41, has been at the centre of allegations of plagiarism which his critics claim are the subject of a cover-up - while his supporters say he is being unfairly treated and targeted due to his race. An investigation has cleared him of plagarism claims Arday says it was his first ultra-marathon feat, which saw him run 30 marathons in 35 days, which led to him becoming a torchbearer ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games The Cambridge professor also alleged to The Guardian he had been confronted outside his faculty building by a balaclava-clad man in two separate incidents, who warned him to resign from his post.  The 41-year-old alleged that the intruder threatened him with a knife on the second occasion.  Following the initial incident, enhanced CCTV as well as a panic alarm were put in place at his office. Arday also alleged he used the panic alarm during the second incident but received no response.  However, according to the publication, the CCTV did not spot the intruder on the first or second occasion while no one who was present in the faculty reported seeing anything out of the ordinary. The professer also did not report the incident at the time, or inform colleagues that a masked man was in the building after the second incident.  In fact, he allegedly carried out a PhD viva for a student just under two hours afterwards, and went about his usual working day.  It is understood since Arday joined the University he has received death threats, abuse and correspondence saying that he does not belong in Cambridge. A Cambridge University spokesperson said: 'As soon as Professor Arday shared concerns with the faculty a number of enhanced security measures were urgently taken in response, with the advice and continuing engagement of university security and the police.  'These include the installation of panic alarms, screening of emails, post and packages, upgraded CCTV and revised security protocols.'  Last month, plagiarism allegations against Arday emerged publicly following a blog post from a former Cambridge academic, Nathan Cofnas, who was dropped by the university over his 'race-realist' views. While an employee at Cambridge, Cofnas faced backlash over multiple blog posts making controversial claims about race, and was accused of 'abhorrent racism' by academics including the head of Homerton College Lord Simon Woolley.  Professor Arday was cleared of plagiarism following an investigation by Liverpool John Moores University.  Since Cofnas's post last month, Arday has now addressed questions over his fundraising claims and admitted he did not, in fact, raise £5.5million for charity by himself. He previously told in a 2021 Tedtalk how a visit to a homeless shelter led to a decision 'to dedicate my life towards helping people... dedicate my life towards charity'. He added: 'My lifelong ambition was to raise £1million for charity before I turned 40. And at 36 I have raised just over £5million.' By 2024, the amount raised had risen to £5.5million, according to a speech Arday made in New Orleans to America's National Funeral Directors Association. Arday has said the money was raised through a series of ultra-marathon events – initially running 30 marathons in 35 days, and then running 300 miles on a treadmill in three days, and 600 miles in six days. A reference to the last feat was recently updated by Southampton Solent University, who have awarded the professor with an honorary degree, to 12 days rather than six. Speaking to The Times, Arday has now acknowledged that he did not raise all that money himself – instead, he was part of a syndicate of around 100 people who contributed. Professor Arday was cleared of plagiarism following an investigation by Liverpool John Moores University over his PhD thesis  He also clarified to the Guardian that the money was raised with the help of 'many fundraising collectives over a two-decade period'. 'Could I have ever guessed that somebody would literally comb through every single word I've ever said on that? There's no way because I never, ever guessed I'd ever be in this position,' he said. Critics have also pointed to a lack of photographs or other evidence that proves Arday completed the challenges – although the feats were said to have been carried out from 2010, as widespread social media was only just emerging. It was the 30 marathons that he says led to him becoming one of around 8,000 torchbearers ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games – an honour for which there is photographic evidence. 'I can't make people believe me,' Arday said. 'Nobody lives their life having a receipt for every single thing they say or they've done.'  The revelation of the charity syndicate is unlikely to make questions go away anytime soon.  It seems that Arday's fundraising quest kicked off in 2010, when local newspapers in south London covered his attempt to complete 30 marathons in 35 days. A JustGiving page for that project, which was quite widely documented by the local media, shows that it generated a grand total of £6,285 for the Shooting Star Children's Hospices. The charity said this week that he'd raised just over £10,000 in total. Arday was photographed completing the challenge at Piccadilly Circus.  Whether he actually completed his second high-profile fundraiser is trickier to establish, however. In July 2011, the Wandsworth Guardian reported that he'd be running 300 miles in three days on treadmills to raise loot for the homeless charity Shelter, starting at the Fitness First gym at Clapham Junction and finishing at Latchmere Leisure Centre in Battersea. 'He aims to be on the treadmill from 6am to 10pm every day,' it wrote. Professor Arday runs the first of 30 marathons across 35 days in 2010, which was shown to raise £6,285 for the Shooting Star Children's Hospices Arday completed his ultra-marathon challenge at Piccadilly Circus and later was reported to be running to raise money for the homeless charity Shelter A post on Shelter's social media feed five hours into the endeavour, which kicked off on August 10, suggests that he did indeed start. But no photos or other records of him finishing exist. A Facebook page dedicated to the challenge suggests it ended in failure, with one post from a supporter saying: 'You've overstepped the mark and your body has said enough!!! ... sorry that your challenge is over but your body and health come first.' Regardless of how it ended Arday has, in recent years, given dozens of speeches claiming that he did run 300 miles in three days. A surviving JustGiving page for the initial attempt records earnings of £380. The Cambridge professor's third and most extraordinary feat of alleged endurance came in 2015, when he claimed to have run from Edinburgh to London, covering 600 miles in just six days. No photographs or other contemporary records of the 600-mile run have ever been published, but the recent update to Southampton Solent University's website could indicate that if Professor Arday did complete it, it was over 12 days instead of six.  He has since told the Guardian that he completed the challenge over a twelve-day period because he had to make sure he took rest days in between days of running 'just to finish'. He explained it took longer due to the 'cumulative wear and tear of training' from his previous running challenges. Team GB ultra-runner Damian Hall weighed in on the claims and told reporters this week: 'I haven't heard of Jason before. Running 30 marathons in 35 days is perfectly possible and several runners, not necessarily elite, have done similar. 'Running 100 miles in 24 hours is also perfectly possible, but it's very hard to keep that going for two more days without good breaks for sleep. Not impossible, but pretty unlikely. 'The 600 miles in six days is, again, not impossible, but would be remarkable, akin to the very best record-breaking ultra-runners. It seems odd that there appears to be no evidence of that.' One of Arday's citations for a Pride of Britain award said that 'in total, he has raised more than £5million for 80 charities over an 18-year period'.  But it's unclear which charities were among the 80 lucky recipients – and it's unknown how many Arday raised money for himself, as opposed to the syndicate. No financial breakdown of his donations has been published. The Cambridge professor also responded to accusations of plagiarism in his PhD thesis, which centred around claims he failed to properly acknowledge and credit all instances where he drew from existing works from fellow academics. Critics have highlighted passages they argue are the same, or similar, to those in another work and said this was not properly cited. Perhaps more unfairly, given Arday's documented struggles with literacy as a child and teenager, they also highlight spelling and grammar errors, which are not unique to him in the academic sphere. After complaints were received about the thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, where Arday completed his PhD, opened an investigation. Arday is said to have not directly disputed the claims that passages in his work were similar to that of Paula Zwozdiak-Myers, a Brunel University student, published six years earlier. He defended the case by arguing he had not received adequate supervision or support, especially given his autism diagnosis and other 'complex learning difficulties'. Arday also hit out at 'insidious and relentless strategies' to discredit the work of black academics by some in the academic community. He was cleared by the panel, who ruled Arday had received inadequate support, with only one formal meeting with his supervisor throughout his PhD, and that issues with citation were a result of 'honest and reasonable error'.  The Times also highlighted further inconsistencies in some of his work, such as referring to interviewees with different descriptions – including to quotes as coming from a 'female Asian undergraduate' in 2021 and then a 'Latin American female academic' in the same year.  Arday has described the criticism as 'soul-destroying', telling the paper: 'I am accountable for the mistakes I've made. I hold myself accountable and other people should hold me accountable. We're talking about academia here. I didn't murder somebody. I think the cruelty that I've experienced and the positioning of me as this kind of liar and fantasist is totally unacceptable.' He added the quality of his work has significantly improved since 2021, as he can now afford a proofreader, and said the papers referred to by the newspaper had all been peer reviewed.  The professor has faced fierce defence from those who agree he is being unfairly targeted, including a petition set up by The Good Law Project. It has so far been signed by high-profile individuals including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, MP John McDonnell, as well as Cambridge's Sonita Alleyne, the master of Jesus College and Lord Woolley of Woodford, the principal of Homerton College. The petition states: 'Entirely false allegations of plagiarism were made against Professor Arday and referred to two universities. Investigations have found no evidence whatsoever of wrongdoing. The relevant academic journals also found no basis for the claims.' It added: 'It is difficult to ignore the question of motivation. When a distinguished Black academic is repeatedly subjected to baseless allegations after being fully exonerated, it signals there is an attempt to undermine Black people who hold positions of influence.'  A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: 'We take allegations of academic misconduct incredibly seriously. It is University procedure that investigations are carried out by the institution at which the research was undertaken.  'This is standard practice in the sector because that institution has access to the information to ensure a full and fair investigation. We have passed complaints to the relevant institutions and asked them to investigate.  'Allegations of plagiarism regarding Professor Arday's thesis and some of his journal publications have been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University and the journals in question.'