Sometimes a single post captures, with uncomfortable precision, the mix of emotions many of us are struggling to articulate. It reflects not only the depth of feeling across our community, but also our grief that something fundamental has gone so badly wrong.
This is a moment of profound sadness and horror for the university. I know that some of us are angry about the failure of academic standards, while many others, are instead angry about how the university could set up a young black man to fail, and in such a horrible way. Many of us, of course, are justifiably furious regarding both. Whatever your feelings, let us direct our confusion and hurt and rage upon the senior figures who were responsible for maintaining academic integrity, our duty of care to scholars, and the university’s reputation. Whatever the final conclusions regarding this awful moment may be, it is clear that something has gone appallingly wrong. Our leadership has fallen desperately short of the standards that they were entrusted to. I feel only sadness today, and am struggling to make sense of it all, as I am sure others feel too. The road ahead will be hard but we cannot continue on the road that took us to this point. [@Pain, here ]
The problem lies in the institution. Had Cambridge University’s Research Integrity Office acknowledged the issue rather than repeatedly denying it, the matter might have been addressed without the need for public scrutiny.
Anger should be directed at those who failed in their duty of care, integrity & stewardship.
Overnight, news broke that the hugely expensive lawyers, Carter-Ruck, were employed to deter a journalist from Times Higher Education who was investigating matters at Cambridge University.
This sits uneasily with repeated assurances on protecting academic freedom / freedom of speech in newspaper articles from the Vice Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, and the Chancellor, Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury.
We cannot continue along this road. Regent House must act.
19 Comments
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 07:11
As I noted in the previous post, the full episode of Free Speech Nation is here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/gduP8bGbNDU
The part on Cambridge starts at 59:30.
I repeat what I said many times: there is no free speech at Cambridge University.
Since August 2025 I have received an increasing number of measures against me that seek to silence and break me. These measures include prohibiting me from contacting hundreds of University members, namely all University HR and the senior leadership, limiting my use of my @cam account, redirect and review the emails I send, decide the topics I can discuss with some University members, prohibit me from contacting co-authors of my own research where I am the senior and corresponding author of the project, not responding to my questions namely regarding the actions against me, giving me incorrect and misleading information namely regarding my current rights in the University, ignoring my complaints regardless the topic, retaining against my will my belongings that I need for my research, dismissing, without any investigation, the whistleblowing disclosures and safeguarding referrals made by third-parties based on detailed medical evidence on how this situation has been affecting my physical and mental health, starting an internal investigation against me where I am threatened that my “crimes” could be reported to the police, and ultimately expelling me as a student from a Department that has nothing to do with the issues that I have raised since June 2023 without even showing me the evidence used against me, while in parallel telling me that even after being expelled I still cannot contact these hundreds of University members, including individuals who no longer work for the University of Cambridge.
This is pure nonjudicial gagging and many people know about this, including Deborah Prentice & Chris Smith, but do nothing about it.
What happened with Jason Arday does not surprise me and many others because Cambridge University does not have limits when it comes to cover up misconduct.
Xerxes · 27 July 2026 at 07:20
Top trending story on X all weekend. 12k postings.
SPARTACUS · 27 July 2026 at 07:58
This is all profoundly sad but predictable. The regime of Debbs is finished. She is ultimately responsible and has no alternative but to resign, as do all ProVCs, and Council.
PVC Watch · 27 July 2026 at 07:58
Arday’s PhD supervisor was Professor Philip Vickerman, who happens to be PVC for Student Experience at Liverpool John Moores University, which reportedly cleared Arday of wrong doing.
https://www.ecscience.org/post/celebrating-black-scientists-jason-arday
https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/structure/executive-leadership-team/professor-phil-vickerman
!!!!! · 27 July 2026 at 08:12
A university spending public money to prevent discussion of the truth? This has to see top level resignations.
Alice · 27 July 2026 at 08:18
POLIS cases either NDA-ed or gagged. Astronomy case, lawyers paid for by the university supported
McMahon’s defamations
Happens all the time in University management, that’s what public money is for.
Solidaridad · 27 July 2026 at 08:28
For the enemies of democracy there can be no forgiveness.
The Telegraph were also threatened with similar letters over the Connolly case:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/30/cambridge-academic-plagiarised-phd-student/
Public money well spent? Let the British people decide.
Wyn Evans · 27 July 2026 at 08:40
Ditto this article
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jun/15/university-of-cambridge-accused-of-tolerating-misogyny-and-bullying-in-tribunal
The Comms office was actually contesting things that the University’s own witnesses had said under oath
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 09:21
I remind readers of what our BreakerMorant told us in October 2025:
https://21percent.org/?p=2757
“*** CARTER-FUCKED ***
‘Sunday Times delays plagiarism story after pressure from University’
They’re going in really hard, will they kill it?”
As we now know, yes, they killed it. This headline and respective story were never published.
Where was this going to be published? Clearly not at Sunday Times!
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 10:22
Meanwhile at King’s College…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-27/cambridge-s-king-s-college-opens-culture-review-after-harassment-allegations
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 10:26
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/cambridges-kings-college-opens-culture-review-after-harassment-allegations
Gillian Tett as the new VC of Cambridge University?
Old Schools refugee · 27 July 2026 at 10:31
Strong move from King’s.
Maybe it’s time we went back to the old way of having a 2 year term, part time VC, rotating among the Heads of Houses. Anything would be better than what we have now.
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 10:35
Simon McDonald as VC of Cambridge University?!?!?!?!
I do not think you want that. He reminds me Lord Glossover:
https://21percent.org/?p=2655
21percent.org · 27 July 2026 at 10:36
Much cheaper. Also, we think (in the past) Regent House had a vote and could veto an unsuitable HoH
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 10:40
“Regent House had a vote and could veto an unsuitable HoH”
Ah, OK. In that case, I think that is fine 😂
Sam Levans · 27 July 2026 at 11:06
I dont know what they gain from trying to shut everything down with NDAs and threatening Carter Ruck letters. These efforts just compound the damage, and reinforce the impression of an out-of-control administration/HR who will spend anything to protect their personal reputations. The disastrous story of the CRUK Cam Oncology debacle is already well known worldwide, everyone in the field knows the story and it has done incalculable damage to the reputation of the University (it explains why they could not find a new Director for the Cambridge Cancer Centre, all the international candidates already knew exactly what had happened, why would they want to take over a smoking train wreck?) . There were just too many people caught up in the trail of destruction to keep a lid on it. Why should all those young scientists whose careers have been wrecked by an incompetent HR department have to keep completely silent about what happened to them? Just so that HR can gloss over the damage it has caused and get their comms department to tell everyone how great they are.
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 11:51
The 21 Group posted this post in x earlier today and after 3h it has already over 11K views…
https://x.com/21percentgroup/status/2081635047900119110
Is the VC aware that this is getting increasingly embarrassing? I wonder if they are waiting that this story simply goes away and back to business as usual in a few days… Luckily, other stories will come out if the University decides to ignore the situation and continue with this revolting ‘cover-up culture’.
BreakerMorant, keep us updated!
ARAMIS · 27 July 2026 at 12:25
Sam Levans post above:
“The disastrous story of the CRUK Cam Oncology debacle is already well known worldwide, everyone in the field knows the story and it has done incalculable damage to the reputation of the University (it explains why they could not find a new Director for the Cambridge Cancer Centre, all the international candidates already knew exactly what had happened, why would they want to take over a smoking train wreck?) . There were just too many people caught up in the trail of destruction to keep a lid on it. Why should all those young scientists whose careers have been wrecked by an incompetent HR department have to keep completely silent about what happened to them?”
The University has now found not one Director- it has nominated two Co-Directors! Problem solved with inbreeding. UCam knows best! Upwards and onwards…
TheResearcher · 27 July 2026 at 12:40
Why isn’t Varsity covering this topic? Aren’t plagiarism and the institutional responses to it relevant to Cambridge students? I would think they are.
Given this post is about free speech at Cambridge University, and on how the University silences journalists through expensive lawyers, it would be great if the editors of Varsity could come forward and clarify if they have been pressed by the University as we well. The 21 Group told us recently that (https://21percent.org/?p=3971)
“Varsity have repeatedly failed to publish many articles on bullying over the last year (eg CRUK, Astronomy, DAMTP), apparently after intervention or pressure by the University”
This is the time to come forward and expose these practices by Cambridge University.