Lanre Bakare
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Articles by Lanre Bakare
‘Always cracking jokes': Questions raised over Jason Arday's claim he was non-verbal as a child
The story of Jason Arday's extraordinary rise to becoming the youngest black professor in the history of the University of Cambridge is all the more remarkable for one claim: that he did not learn to speak until just shy of his 12th birthday. This claim was mentioned in a letter announcing his resignation last week , which came amid mounting questions about both his academic work and statements he had made about his past.
Jason Arday claimed he was paid '1.4 million' by publisher for memoir
Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, claimed he was paid “1.4 million” for his forthcoming memoir detailing his extraordinary backstory. Arday was dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials before he resigned on Wednesday night, saying the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”.
The rise and fall of Jason Arday: a full rundown of the questions being asked
The rise and fall of Prof Jason Arday has been one of the most dramatic in the history of British academia. Diagnosed as autistic as a child, he says he was non-verbal until he was 11 and only learned to read and write at the age of 18. Less than 20 years later he was appointed the youngest black professor in Cambridge University’s history. His resignation on Wednesday followed two weeks of intense scrutiny.
Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns amid accusations of plagiarism
Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, has resigned after the university announced he was to face new investigations into his qualifications and career. Arday, who had been dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials, issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying the "relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love".
Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns amid accusations of plagiarism
Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, has resigned after the university announced he was to face a new investigation into his qualifications and career. Arday, who had been dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials, issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”.
Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns amid accusations of plagiarism
Updated Wed, 5 August 2026 at 8:16 pm UTC Jason Arday is the youngest black person to be appointed a professor at the University of Cambridge.Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, has resigned after the university announced he was to face new investigations into his qualifications and career.
Cambridge announces investigation into professor accused of plagiarism
Jason Arday insists portraying him as a liar and fantasist is ‘totally unacceptable’. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, is to face investigation by the university after it said it received “new information” about his qualifications and career.
Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor
default When the superstar academic Jason Arday took to the stage at the British Sociological Association’s 75th anniversary conference earlier this year, he delivered a talk called Wanted Dead or Alive: the Playbook. The youngest black professor in Cambridge University’s history told an audience of his peers that the playbook in question had helped bring down some of the biggest names in US academia.
‘I've always used my voice online': The rapid rise of photographer Misan Harriman – and what happened next
It has been a hectic few weeks for Misan Harriman. When we meet, he has just returned from New York, where he hosted screenings of a new documentary about his work as an activist and photographer of protests, Shoot the People. While there, the 48-year-old got to soak in the glorious chaos of the New York Knicks' victory parade. “I've never seen New York like that: all colours, all shapes, and sizes,” says Harriman, who had not been to the city since he was a child.
Initiation stones, buried recordings, and Ringo Starr’s drumkit: inside the visionary world of reggae master Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry
David Katz’s introduction to the world of Lee “Scratch” Perry was bewildering. The Jamaican producer had been living in London for several years, and Katz, a Jewish reggae historian who had fallen in love with the music as a teenager in San Francisco, had moved to the UK capital in 1987 and wanted to interview the notoriously evasive artist. Katz tracked him down to a recording studio in Rotherhithe, just over the river in south London.
Theatre producer to repeat Broadway phone ban at London run of play
A curtain call for Liberation at the James Earl Jones theatre on Broadway, with the director, Whitney White, and the writer, Bess Wohl, first and second left.Photograph: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images (Photograph: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) When a Pulitzer prize-winning play about a feminist activist opened in New York, audiences had to do something unusual.
Escaping Babylon by Jesse Bernard review – an intimate history of Black British music
Craig David performing at the 2002 Mobo awards.Photograph: PA Images/Alamy (Photograph: PA Images/Alamy) The year 1989 was a landmark in Black British music: Soul II Soul were on their way to conquering America and Sade had already become a global sensation, while A Guy Called Gerald and Nightmares on Wax had the entire Hacienda dancing to their tunes. It’s a fitting moment for Jesse Bernard (who was born in that year) to start his excellent memoir-cum-cultural history, Escaping Babylon.
Too nice: Frank Skinner on Gareth Southgate – and his fiery successor
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Skinner, who has co-written a new poem about football fandom and the home nations ahead of Euro 2028, told the Guardian that he believes England ultimately fell at the final hurdle under Southgate because he was too much of a “nice bloke”. “I think he lacked the killer instinct,” says Skinner of Southgate. “I think he was a really nice bloke and that was the problem.
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy
The lyrics came to Stuart Murdoch in the hazy aftermath of Scotland's dramatic qualification for the World Cup. The song, which the band debuted as part of an encore at an April gig at the Royal Albert Hall and is out on 2 June, coincides with Scotland preparing to play in their first World Cup tournament since 1998. Scotland will face Brazil and Morocco in the group stage, with Haiti the final team making up a tough draw.
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Greta Thunberg and Gary Lineker sign letter defending Southbank Centre chair
Greta Thunberg, Tracey Emin and Gary Lineker are among those to sign an open letter in support of Southbank Centre chair Misan Harriman, after what they call a “dishonest smear campaign” by media outlets who accused him of promoting Golders Green attack “conspiracies” and comparing Reform voters to Nazis.
What not to miss at the 2026 Venice Biennale
Lanre Bakare, Charlotte Higgins and Alex Needham FLORENTINA HOLZINGER'S SKINNY DIPPERS She's famous for her extreme performances and Florentina Holzinger upped the ante yet again in Venice with a postapocalyptic pavilion that opened with her suspended upside down from the clappers of a large bell. Inside, there was a woman riding a speedboat in circles, two others suspended at the top of a pole and another sitting entirely submerged in a tank. Oh, and no one was wearing any clothes.
What not to miss at the 2026 Venice Biennale
She’s famous for her extreme performances and Florentina Holzinger upped the ante yet again in Venice with a postapocalyptic pavilion that opened with her suspended upside down from the clappers of a large bell. Inside, there was a woman riding a speedboat in circles, two others suspended at the top of a pole and another sitting entirely submerged in a tank. Oh, and no one was wearing any clothes.
Several Venice Biennale pavilions shut in protest over inclusion of Israel
Lanre Bakare in Venice The strike was organised by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga), which at one point said that more than 20 pavilions would shutter in order to support their calls for Israel to be barred from the event because of its war in Gaza. On Friday, about a dozen pavilions took part, with some partly closing, causing confusion at the event, which is 24 hours away from opening to the general public, after its traditional press preview.
Several Venice Biennale pavilions shut in protest over inclusion of Israel
A strike called in protest over the inclusion of Israel at the 2026 Venice Biennale meant several pavilions closed on the last day of the preview, some for a few hours while others – including the standout work from Austria – remained closed all day. The strike was organised by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga), which at one point said that more than 20 pavilions would shutter in order to support their calls for Israel to be barred from the event because of its war in Gaza.
Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close
Pussy Riot protesters outside the Russian pavilion on Wednesday.Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced temporarily to shut its doors on the second day of the preview after the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest against the country’s inclusion in the art festival.
Dark clouds, protests and resignations dampen start of 61st Venice Biennale
Lanre Bakare in Venice The 61st Venice Biennale vernissage began on Tuesday under grey clouds and rain showers, as political tension, parties and protest dominated proceedings at one of the art world's biggest events. Lubaina Himid, the British entrant, who has spent a career creating work that picks at her country's colonial past, took over the UK's pavilion with her large-scale paintings and sound collage that recalls a “perfect British summer's day”.
Dark clouds, protests and resignations dampen start of 61st Venice Biennale
A Derrick Adams mural opposite the entrance to the Arsenale in tribute to Koyo Kouoh, the event’s curator, who died last year. Photograph: Andrea Avezzu/Derrick Adams Studio Photo: Andrea Avezzù Courtesy Gagosian The 61st Venice Biennale vernissage began on Tuesday under grey clouds and rain showers, as political tension, parties and protest dominated proceedings at one of the art world’s biggest events.
‘We put our heads above the parapet’: Lubaina Himid on winning her 40-year battle to storm the Venice Biennale
‘I could smell Brexit coming’ … Himid in her studio in Preston.Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian The Venice Biennale opening is just days away but Lubaina Himid isn’t in a rush. The artist, who will represent Britain at the “Olympics of art”, is at home in Preston, where there’s an air of calm. Her wife and frequent collaborator Magda Stawarska is making a pot of tea. Gardeners are moving paving slabs in the back yard.
Anish Kapoor says US’s ‘politics of hate’ should exclude it from Venice Biennale
; ; ; Continue reading More for You ; ; ; Continue reading More for You
Anish Kapoor says US’s ‘politics of hate’ should exclude it from Venice Biennale
Anish Kapoor in his South London studio in 2021.Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian Anish Kapoor says the US should be excluded from the Venice Biennale because of the country’s “abhorrent politics of hate” and its “incessant warmongering”. The artist, who represented Britain at the 1990 edition, told the Guardian that he commended the biennale jury’s decision to resign just a few days before the event, which is billed as the “Olympics of art”, in protest at the inclusion of Israel and Russia.
Mystery sitter in Holbein portrait could be Anne Boleyn, AI analysis finds
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent They are two small sketches by the Renaissance master Hans Holbein: one has long been considered to be a portrait of Henry VIII's doomed second wife,Anne Boleyn, and the other is of an unknown woman whose name was lost to time. Now researchers using AI have discovered that the unnamed woman might be the tragic queen after all, while the other figure could in fact be Boleyn's mother.
Tate at a turning point: New director must confront unwieldy 'beast' of an art institution
Roland Rudd, the chair of Tate, is in a bullish mood when we meet at his offices in the Adelphi Building, which sits on the Thames between the art institution's two London sites. “Things have never been better,” he says. It's a rebuff to any suggestion that the organisation is in flux – and, as if he were expecting the question to arise, Rudd produces a piece of paper from his suit pocket with notes to prove his point.
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy V&A East Storehouse and Norwich Castle among finalists for museum of the year
Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Story of Black British music writ large in first exhibition at V&A East
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Jacqueline Springer is standing in the middle of the V&A's new exhibition space looking wistfully at a pair of drainpipe trousers, a tailored suit jacket and a porkpie hat, which create the unmistakable silhouette ofPauline Black, lead singer of the 2 Tone group the Selector. Springer is the curator of the V&A East's inaugural exhibition, The Music is Black, a landmark survey of Black British music, which opens this weekend.
Asif Kapadia to direct 70 Up, last chapter of influential ITV documentary series
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Asif Kapadia will bring the long-running ITV documentary series Up to an end with a concluding instalment that will air this year. The series, which began in 1964 and was voted the most influential UK TV show of the last 50 years in 2024, has followed a group of people from childhood to adulthoodat seven-year intervalsand now checks in on them as they approach old age. The series' longtime director Michael Apteddied in 2021.
Struggling theatres must 'programme their way out', says Young Vic director
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Theatres facing financial difficulty can only prosper by “programming their way out of it”, according to the Young Vic artistic director, Nadia Fall, who has announces her new slate of shows, including an anti-Trump musical version ofThelma & Louise. Fall, who took the helm at the Young Vic in 2025 andoversaw staff cuts after a £500,000 deficit in the last financial year, said theatres must put on unmissable productions in order to balance the books.
Cultural venues in England to share £130m under Arts Everywhere scheme
More than 100 cultural venues, museums, and libraries will share £130m extra funding as part of the largest cash injection into the arts for a decade, ministers have announced. The investment forms part of the Arts Everywhere Fund, a £1.5bn package to support cultural infrastructure projects over the course of this parliament, which was announced by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, earlier this year .
Cultural venues in England to share £130m under Arts Everywhere scheme
The Lowry Centre Trust has been awarded £8.5m to upgrade infrastructure, including replacing escalators with lifts and providing step-free access to galleries.Photograph: Neil McAllister/Alamy (Photograph: Neil McAllister/Alamy) More than 100 cultural venues, museums, and libraries will share £130m extra funding as part of the largest cash injection into the arts for a decade, ministers have announced.
Wireless festival cancelled after Kanye West banned from entering UK
Jamie Grierson, Rajeev Syal and Lanre Bakare Tue, April 7, 2026 at 1:29 p.m. UTC 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
UK Jewish groups threaten protests if Kanye West's Wireless shows go ahead
Jamie Grierson and Lanre Bakare Kanye West will face mass protests if his three-night residency at London's Wireless festival goes ahead, according to Jewish groups who say that if the rapper is truly sorry for his antisemitic remarks he should cancel this summer's gigs. In a statement on Tuesday, West, who is legally known as Ye, offered to “meet and listen” to members of the UK's Jewish community after a backlash over his planned appearance at the festival in July.
Punk masks, Walkmans and choppers: Museum of Youth Culture to open in London
In the basement of a new-build housing block in Camden, the ventilation system is working flat out. The fans whir like a chainsaw orchestra bouncing around the concrete room as they attempt to deal with a slight damp problem. “This is what it'd sound like if there was a fire!” shouts Jon Swinstead, the driving force behind the Museum of Youth Culture, as he tries to make himself heard above the din.
Natural History Museum tops UK attraction list with record visitors
London's Natural History Museum (NHM) was the most popular attraction in the UK during 2025, with its renovated gardens, new climate gallery and lack of entry fee leading to record-breaking numbers of visitors. More than 7.1 million people passed through its doors, a 13% increase in visitors year on year and an all-time record for any UK museum or gallery.
Arts Council England must change or face 'disaster', culture department is told
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Arts Council England requires a “radical” overhaul so it can to respond to the challenges of the culture sector, according to Margaret Hodge, who said it would be a “disaster” if ACE leaders did not heed her warnings. The Labour peer, who led a wide-ranging and critical report into ACE , made the comments at a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee, where she reiterated her calls for the organisation to embrace change.
‘Orwell went off to fight. I thought I’d have to do the same’: Raoul Peck on his intimate connection with the writer
Wakeup call … a still from Orwell: 2+2=5. Photograph: Courtesy of Neon ‘I must admit,” says Raoul Peck from his book-lined Parisian apartment, “George Orwell was not top of my list of authors who I thought would fit my current view of the world.” That view – anti-imperialist, intellectually curious and fiercely independent – has been shaped by an extraordinary life. Born in Haiti, Peck grew up under the notoriously violent Duvalier regimes, before his family fled in 1961.
‘How can I do better?': Michael B Jordan's Oscar win for Sinners is a deserved reward for an outstanding actor
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent Michael B Jordan's best actor Oscar places him in an exclusive club . Only five black actors have won the award before. He now sits on a list that includes Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier, the first black winner for Lilies of the Field in 1964. But less than a month ago, it seemed unlikely.
Barbican arts director to leave, months after revealing creative vision for centre
Devyani Saltzman is leaving the Barbican as the arts institution undergoes another significant leadership change just a few weeks after its new CEO joined. The shock departure of Saltzman, who became director of arts and participation at the Barbican in February 2024, comes months after she unveiled a five-year creative vision for the venue.
‘Holy grail' footage of David Bowie at his peak to feature in immersive London show
Rare “holy grail” footage of David Bowie performing Heroes at Earl's Court in 1978 is to feature in a new immersive show about the singer's life and creative practice. Extended footage of the performance has been pieced back together by the team behind the new Lightroom exhibition, who had access to new camera angles found on film reels discovered in the artist's archives.
Unmasking US rap iconoclast MF Doom's final years in West Yorkshire
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent The hunt for clues about the life of the masked rapper MF Doom had taken Adam Batty to some strange places, none more so than a remote-control car shop in the market town of Otley, West Yorkshire. Rumour had it that Doom, who died in Leeds in 2020, had spent thousands in the shop. Other sightings placed him in the indie venue the Brudenell Social Club . Like most things surrounding the rapper, myth, rumour and lore envelop his story.
‘Was I scared going back to China? No’: Ai Weiwei on AI, western censorship and returning home
‘It was like a phone call suddenly connecting’ … Ai Weiwei. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian Ai Weiwei is talking me through the decision-making process before his first visit to China in over a decade. The artist, known around the world as the most famous critic of the Chinese communist regime, had to do some fraught arithmetic before deciding to head back home.
Campaigners urge UK ministers to make music lyrics inadmissible in court
Campaigners are urging ministers to change the law so that music lyrics are inadmissible in court, a shift that they say would stop a practice that disproportionately affects young black men and criminalises creativity. At present, police can produce lyrics written by defendants, and even flag an appearance in the background of a music video, as evidence that a suspect is affiliated with a gang or involved in criminality.
Its an opportunity for bonding my quest to become a Black dad who can do his daughters hair
In the basement of Larry Kings salon in Marylebone, London, stylist and curly hair advocate Jennie Roberts is giving me a much-needed pep talk. Its all about education and making everything simplified, she says, perhaps sensing my apprehension as I stand uneasily before her with a comb in hand. Its not a big effort, it is not going to cost a lot of money. Managing curly hair, once you know how, is easy, Roberts says. It really is. Its easier than trying to hide it anyway.
Tariq Ali claims BFI has frozen him out of multicultural TV season
The editor of a groundbreaking Channel 4 show claims the BFI has frozen him out of an upcoming season on multicultural television and is presenting a skewed vision of the programme. Tariq Ali was part of the creative team that produced the global current affairs Bandung File for Channel 4 in the 1980s. The current affairs programme spotlighted everything from the realities of apartheid South Africa to the fallout from the publication of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.
Letitia Wright, Cate Blanchett and Sandra Oh to star in National Theatre shows
Cate Blanchett, Sandra Oh and Letitia Wright will form part of the National Theatre's starry, female-led lineup for its 2026 season that its artistic director promises will “theatrically explode”. Oh, the Killing Eve and Grey's Anatomy star, makes her National Theatre debut in an adaptation of Molière's social satire The Misanthrope, which is directed by the theatre's director and joint chief executive, Indhu Rubasingham.
Delroy Lindo: The Sinners Oscar nominee who could make Spike Lee's secret British weapon rather less secret
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent In the aftermath of the Oscar nominations, Wunmi Mosaku was heralded as Britain's saviour after her best supporting actress nod at Hollywood's most prestigious awards. The UK had been facing its first nomination-less year in the acting categories since 1986 . But the Sinners star was joined by a fellow cast member, Lewisham-born, Delroy Lindo, who will also be representing Britain on the big night on 15 March.
Museums must reach all parts of UK, says Nandy as 1.5bn of arts funding announced
London-based museums need to ensure they reach every part of the country, according to Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, who on Wednesday announced a landmark 1.5bn funding package for the arts meant to restore national pride. National museums including the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery will be handed a 600m package but the culture secretary has urged them to look outside the capital to extend their sphere of influence.
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