MPs, academics, and other leading Black figures have signed a Good Law Project letter agreeing with the demands of students for action against Cambridge University vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice for her role in the events that lead to the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday.

Arday was hounded by British ‘mainstream’ press in a campaign triggered by Nathan Cofnas, an Israel-supporting white-supremacist and ‘racial scientist’. Long before Arday’s death, Cofnas’s colleagues at Ghent University had written to the university detailing his unfitness for his role. He has now been suspended, but defended by the Trump regime and far-right ‘academics’, and given space by the Wall Street Journal to portray himself as the victim.

Earlier today, 24 August 2026, the Cambridge Black Alumni and Students’ Collective (CBASC) demanded action from the university to protect students and staff from racist pile-ons and an independent investigation into Arday’s death:

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A post shared by Cambridge Black Alumni & Student Collective (CBASC) (@camblackasc)

In just the few hours since then, at the time of writing, well over 120 leading, mostly Black figures have signed GLP’s letter supporting CBASC’s demands.

The letter was drafted by Lester Holloway, who had alerted the Guardian that its coverage was endangering his friend Arday’s life. The paper ploughed on anyway. The letter reads:

To: Lord Chris Smith, Cambridge University Chancellor

The students of the University of Cambridge demand the immediate resignation of Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice and support an independent investigation into the conduct of senior leadership.
Ten days ago, on the 14th of August, tragically and preventably, Professor Jason Arday died.

A sustained campaign consisting of 249 articles published through major national news outlets over 22 days was launched against Professor Jason Arday. During this period, the university, under the Vice Chancellor’s leadership, failed in its responsibility to safeguard Professor Arday and other racialised and marginalised members of the University. The Vice-Chancellor’s misconduct and mishandling contributed significantly to the preventable death of Professor Arday.

The University initially defended Professor Arday against what it deemed a “vile smear campaign”. However, four days prior to his death, the Vice-Chancellor bowed to public pressure and launched an investigation into Professor Arday. Her statement was a screeching u-turn which abandoned an academic being attacked in connection with his appointment by the University, describing this as a “troubling case” and later an “aberration”.

What exactly was the support, we would like to know, that the University provided to Professor Arday after his resignation? Can the Vice-Chancellor confirm that the University did not encourage Professor Arday to resign?

Her silence around the racist nature of this public campaign in the three gruelling weeks of public scrutiny immensely harmed the well-being of Professor Arday and Black students and staff across the University.

This speaks to a wider pattern of harm towards the Black community being ignored by the Vice-Chancellor. In 2024, 58 formal complaints were lodged with the University of Cambridge about Nathan Cofnas following his racist views about Black intellectual ability. Following an investigation, these complaints were dismissed. These dismissals, we believe, prioritised appeasing the right wing media above the protection of the University of Cambridge’s own scholars who had documented profound mistrust from those experiencing racism.

The Vice Chancellor has severely failed to uphold the legislatively mandated commitment to freedom from discrimination. Instead, her statements fuelled the racially motivated campaign targeting Professor Arday. Despite multiple reported warnings that Professor Arday needed to be safeguarded, the Vice-Chancellor and senior leadership of the University repeatedly ignored concerns raised by those closest to him, exacerbating the risk to his life.

The Vice-Chancellor’s statements on 11th and 14th August, the latter published only hours before his death, did not express any concern for Professor Arday’s wellbeing.

The Vice-Chancellor’s demonstrated actions and inaction directly contributed to the tragic and preventable death of a beloved professor. We have lost confidence in her stewardship of this university, and her ability to enact the necessary change that needs to happen.

Along with the Vice-Chancellor’s immediate resignation, we concur with the demands raised by the Cambridge Black Alumni and Student Collective, dated 24 August, as necessary next steps to accountability, justice and healing.

The letter form does not display all those who have signed, but among those who are visible at the time of writing are MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Diane Abbott, former MP Claudia Webbe, author Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Prof Sir Patrick Vernon and former police chief Leroy Logan.

Add your own signature here.

Featured image via the Canary

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