Izzie Addison

Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday was found dead at a property in Battersea, south London, in a death police are treating as unexpected but not suspicious. Andy Burnham called the death a tragedy and urged reflection rather than rushed judgment, while John Swinney said critics should consider the impact of their comments. Arday had resigned after media reports raised plagiarism and other credibility allegations, although an investigation by Liverpool John Moores University cleared him of wrongdoing. His colleague Simon Baron-Cohen and Arday’s family described sustained media scrutiny and abuse, alongside his autism and other disabilities, as contributing to his vulnerability. His memoir, Great And Unfortunate Things, had been due for publication later in August.

A domestic violence survivor said a Travelodge receptionist gave her abuser a key to her London room after he falsely claimed she was having a seizure, enabling him to attack her and later force his way through the door. Travelodge apologised, acknowledged that its room-access policies were not followed, and said it had strengthened key-issuance and incident-escalation procedures. MP Freddie van Mierlo said the reforms were insufficient and called for chief executive Jo Boydell to step down. The report also references Kyran Smith's seven-and-a-half-year sentence for a similar 2022 attack at a Travelodge in Maidenhead.