Are congratulations in order for Sacha Baron Cohen? The more I read about Jason Arday, the Cambridge sociology professor and DEI poster boy caught up in a plagiarism row, the more convinced I am he’s the comedian’s greatest creation. 

Arday’s academic career, like his athletic achievements, reads like a fairy tale

Arday’s academic career, like his athletic achievements, reads like a fairy tale

First, there’s the over-the-top back story. He claimed to have been totally mute until the age of 11 – having been diagnosed with autism – and unable to read or write until he was 18. Yet in spite of these disadvantages, he earned a PhD by the time he was 30 – which he managed to complete while suffering from a brain tumour!

On the face of it, utterly incredible. But it begins to make sense if you think of Arday as an Ali G-like character designed to test the limits of how unwilling white do-gooders are to challenge the claims of black people suffering from ‘intersectional oppression’, however implausible. 

And test the limits he has. Arday claims to have been a semi-professional footballer. He went on to chalk up some truly extraordinary achievements in ultra-endurance running, or so he says, completing the 600 miles from Edinburgh to London in just six days – 50 miles short of the world record for ultra-distance running over six days – and 30 marathons in 35 days. During this latter feat, he suffered a hairline fracture on day 21 and, according to him, it swelled to twice its normal size. Yet, remarkably, he went on to complete another nine marathons. In all, he maintains, he raised £5.5 million for........

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