A friend of Jason Arday said that the former Cambridge University professor had “hit rock bottom” before his death. On Friday (14 August) Prof Arday, who resigned following a plagiarism row, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called to an address in Battersea to reports that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property. Speaking to Sky News, childhood friend Mike Freeman called Prof Arday’s death a “waste of a life that was cut short needlessly”. He said that his friend, who he described as a “humble person,” could not “see a way out of things” following intense media scrutiny. The Metropolitan Police said his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.