Cambridge Picks Post Office Inquiry Barrister for Arday Review

Cambridge University has appointed the lead barrister of the Post Office Horizon inquiry to lead an independent review after the death of the academic Jason Arday. It is the second outside review the university has commissioned over its dealings with him.

What Jason Beer KC will examine

Jason Beer KC will look at how Cambridge dealt with accusations of misconduct, in research and elsewhere, that were levelled at Arday before he resigned. He will also examine how the university recruited and supported Arday, who at 37 became its youngest ever black professor.

Beer will ask whether wider institutional changes are needed. That includes the protection Cambridge offers academics who face heavy public and media attention, and the procedures used to appoint Arday.

The university asked for a thorough and searching examination of its arrangements and decisions. Beer says he will check not only what the policies required but whether they were reasonable, how they worked in practice, and who made decisions. He will also ask what information was reasonably available to those people and whether the university's structures worked together well.

The timeline behind the review

Arday was a professor of the sociology of education. He died at his home in south London. At the time he was facing wide public attention over allegations of plagiarism and discrepancies in what he had said about his career.

He denied the plagiarism accusations. Cambridge announced on 5 August an inquiry into his academic qualifications, and he quit within hours. Nine days later he was found dead.

A second review, a different focus

The first review was announced in September. Nazir Afzal, who once served as chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, was asked to concentrate on the support Arday received just before his death. Beer's brief is wider and reaches back to the handling of the allegations and the hiring.

Beer has worked on public inquiries before, including for NHS England in the Covid-19 inquiry. He is best known as lead counsel to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, which looked into the wrongful prosecution of nearly 1,000 post office operators.

He invited anyone with relevant knowledge or experience to take part. He promised sensitivity toward participants, confidentiality and fairness to anyone whose conduct is examined.

Cambridge's vice-chancellor, Prof Deborah Prentice, described Beer as an eminent legal expert. She thanked the panel of independent experts he has convened and said the university looks forward to receiving the findings and recommendations.

Our Take

Two reviews now cover different stretches of the same story. Afzal looks at the last days, and Beer at the decisions and structures that came before. Whether Cambridge changes how it shields staff under public scrutiny will depend on what Beer recommends and on whether the university accepts those findings. No reporting date has been given.

Source: the Guardian