On the Daily Mail's Deep Dive podcast, senior feature writer Guy Adams discusses his weeks-long investigation into Jason Arday, the Cambridge academic who resigned last week amid accusations of plagiarising parts of his PhD thesis and growing scepticism about his personal backstory. Adams, who describes Arday as a "fabulist", tells host Chris Pleasance that almost every claim he examined about the professor's life fell apart under scrutiny, and suggests the case could prompt a wider "reckoning" over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices in academia. Arday denies the plagiarism allegations and disputes claims made about his past.

Arday, 41, became Cambridge's youngest ever black professor in 2023 and was widely profiled by outlets including the Guardian and BBC, having described overcoming autism and global developmental delay, including being unable to speak until age 11 and unable to read or write until 18. Adams focuses particular attention on Arday's charity fundraising claims, including an assertion that he raised £5million through long-distance running – a figure that would rank him among Britain's most prolific charity runners since Captain Sir Tom Moore – and a dramatic account in his memoir of completing nine marathons on a broken leg sustained after an epileptic fit, complete with thousands of cheering spectators in Piccadilly Circus. Adams says TV footage of the event instead shows around 25 onlookers, some eating packed lunches, and no visible injury to either of Arday's legs.