Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row defends his work

The contention has attracted a scope of opinions, including wrong the world community.

More than 12,000 radical - including Green Party person Zack Polanski, astatine slightest 5 Labour MPs and immoderate Cambridge academics - person signed a petition acceptable up by the Good Law Project supporting Arday.

Kehinde Andrews, prof of achromatic studies astatine Birmingham City University, said Arday was the unfortunate of a "smear campaign" that was "as predictable arsenic it is baseless", portion Alan Lester, a University of Sussex geography prof who specialises successful colonialism, called it a "non-story".

Simon Baron-Cohen - a cognitive neuroscientist and chap astatine Trinity College, Cambridge - raised concerns astir the interaction the media sum was having connected Arday.

"We should of people ever analyse plagiarism to support world standards," helium wrote connected Friday. "However, I cannot basal by and ticker erstwhile an autistic antheral is connected the crushed and the kicking continues. This is relentless bullying of a susceptible autistic antheral and raises safe-guarding issues. It's clip to stop."

But immoderate academics accidental determination are questions to reply implicit world propriety.

John Preston, an emeritus prof of sociology astatine the University of Essex, said "there is simply a lawsuit to reply here".

"Mistakes happen. If sociology of acquisition is to ever beryllium a tract with immoderate credibility, we request to beryllium capable to constituent these out, close them, and determination on," helium wrote, adding that determination was "no idiosyncratic shame successful making mistakes and admitting them".

A Cambridge University spokesperson told the BBC it took allegations of world misconduct "incredibly seriously" but that it was "standard practice" that inverstigations were carried retired by the instauration astatine which the probe was done.

They added: "Allegations of plagiarism regarding Professor Arday's thesis and immoderate of his diary publications person been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University and the journals successful question."