Jason Arday found dead

This summer isn’t as bad as the drought of 1976 | The best albums of the year so far

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Saturday, 15 August 2026 Issue No. 538

Good morning. Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor, has been found dead. He was found “unresponsive” at an address in Battersea, south London, yesterday. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said his death was “being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious”. Elsewhere, 70 per cent of England is gripped by a drought, leading to comparisons with the summer of 1976. Fifty years ago, the conditions were more disruptive, but scientists warn that more summers like this could still push the country’s infrastructure to breaking point. Our Business desk reports. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for less than £2.50 per month. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.   In today’s edition Meloni lurches to the Right to fend off insurgent challenger — At 76, Princess Anne is still wearing clothes from when she was 18 — Plus, the best albums of 2026 so far

Get 1 year for just £29 Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month. Subscribe now   Jason Arday found dead Charles Hymas Home Affairs Editor   Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor, has been found dead. Arday was found “unresponsive” at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious. The case is being investigated by officers from the Met’s Central South Command Unit. A file will be prepared for the coroner.” Arday resigned as professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge on Aug 5, citing the “unrelenting level of public scrutiny” following accusations of plagiarism. He had been the university’s youngest ever black professor. Hours before his resignation, Cambridge launched an investigation into his appointment and tenure at the university. It was expected to feed into a review of the university’s hiring process for all senior academic positions. His family paid tribute to him as a “gentle man” and an “amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”. Prof Deborah Prentice, Cambridge’s vice-chancellor, said the university was “desperately saddened to hear this tragic news”. Continue reading ➤   This summer isn’t as bad as the drought of 1976 The River Thames was exceptionally low during the 1976 drought Matt Oliver, Theo Horch and Jonathan Leake   After the driest July on record and an August that has so far scarcely been better, the drought gripping more than 70 per cent of England is inviting comparisons to 1976. That year, months of persistent hot weather and sparse rainfall left rivers, groundwater and reservoir resources dangerously parched. In response, some local water boards switched off household supplies and forced people to fill buckets at street standpipes. Catherine Fish was only five at the time but remembers “lots of ladybirds”, as well as signs her school handed out to take home and put in the lavatory: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Things are thankfully not that bad now – partly thanks to resilience measures the Government introduced following the drought that year. It’s how quickly these events occur that is worrying scientists. “On paper, 1976 was much more severe than today,” says Dr Katie Facer-Childs, of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. “But although that was longer, what we’re finding today is we’re getting to the same levels with worrying speed.” Continue reading ➤   Opinion Charles Moore Nigel Farage’s self-centred victim politics has no answers on how to fix Britain The Clacton by-election was a vanity project that gave voters nothing beyond confirming the Reform leader’s popularity Continue reading ➤     Camilla Tominey Miliband’s hard-Left interns now run our energy policy. What could go wrong? Continue reading ➤     Tomé Morrissy-Swan Disposable barbecues are a culinary travesty – I’m glad they’re now banned Continue reading ➤     To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. In other news • The Government’s emergency alert system descended into chaos yesterday when wildfire warnings sounded repeatedly on mobile phones, disturbing some people at 10pm. • A train derailed in Essex less than a day after 20 people were injured in a similar incident at Lewes. Sixty-two people were aboard and all were assessed and discharged. • Heathrow has told passengers not to travel to the airport by road after flooding in the central terminal. Roads around Terminals 2 and 3 were closed this morning and passengers have been urged to use public transport. • Luigi Mangione has admitted to killing Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare chief executive. He told a ferderal court: “I shot Mr Thompson and he died. I knew what I was doing was illegal.” • The head of a monastery on a Scottish island has attacked “money-grabbing” plans to build a wind farm off its coast with turbines as high as the Eiffel Tower. Iona Abbey, which was turned back into a monastery in 2024 by Father Seraphim-Oran Aldea   Weekend reads Meloni lurches to the Right to fend off insurgent challenger She once seemed indomitable, but Giorgia Meloni now faces a stiff challenge from a tough-talking former paratrooper general. Critics say it has prompted her to lurch to the Right on issues such as migration, security and national identity. Will it be enough to save her at Italy’s next election? Nick Squires investigates. Continue reading ➤   At 76, Princess Anne is still wearing clothes from when she was 18 Happy Birthday to the Princess Royal, who turns 76 today. There are many qualities that make Anne an exceptional septuagenarian, one of them being her determination to wear items she has owned since she was a teenager. “She does not need many new clothes, as the ones she already has serve her perfectly well,” her former dresser tells Rebecca Cope in our piece celebrating some of the Princess’s most remarkable rewears. Continue reading ➤   Your Saturday The best albums of 2026 so far There is plenty of great new music if you take the time to look and listen. To help you along, our music writers have assembled a guide to the best albums of the year so far. From addictive pop courtesy of Olivia Rodrigo, to Carly Simon’s first album in 18 years, a five-star masterpiece from the Rolling Stones and country gems from Ella Langley and Kacey Musgraves, there’s something for everyone. Continue reading ➤ Here is another article that I hope you’ll find helpful this morning: As new analysis links large peaks in glucose levels with increased Alzheimer’s risk, our expert looks at what causes them and the diet swaps that you could make.   Food for thought Do you know what you’re going to eat this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Every week, Diana Henry, The Telegraph’s award-winning cookery writer, brings you three recipes for a perfect weekend meal. Meanwhile, William Sitwell shares his view from the culinary world – and a recommendation or two. Melon with goat’s curd, red wine and lavender dressing Diana Henry   Last weekend everyone was here (that’s my two sons and my sister), and now I’m back to cooking just for me. It was hard to send the youngest off with a pot of veal osso buco to take to his girlfriend, but I resisted the desire to hide it in the fridge (for myself). It’s been a hot week and all I want is cooling food, which for me means melon. This is quite an unusual dish – I had it in France many years ago and have held onto it. Don’t worry about finding goat’s curd, a creamy goat’s cheese will be fine. My garden is scorched – you expect tumbleweed to roll into view when there’s a breeze – but the lavender is doing OK (it can take the highest temperatures). I want to make the most of it before summer’s end. I sometimes add ham – Parma or Bayonne – to this to make it more substantial. You just need a baguette on the side. Bloody Mary steak salad I never drink alcohol when I’m on my own, not because I think I should restrict it, but because I can’t enjoy it by myself. Wine and cocktails need to be shared. A Bloody Mary is my favourite drink to have on a flight, so I thought up a dish that would show off its flavours, minus the vodka. You can add other touches to the dressing. I generally put a small dash of sherry in my Bloody Mary, so feel free to add a little to this. The salad doesn’t need to be consumed with steak – though it works very well – it also goes with lamb chops cooked with chilli flakes (such as lamb scottadito – add dried oregano as well) or a piece of seared tuna. You need excellent tomatoes. Japanese-style trout with sushi rice I love dinners for one that require a little care, that must look pretty. This dish is perfect, and is better to make just for yourself than a table full of friends. It’s based on a Japanese dish called chirashizushi, which means “scattered sushi” – a good way to describe it. There’s salmon roe in this, so you’re required to purchase an expensive little jar that you don’t finish. Use the rest for a ritzy breakfast with corn pancakes and crème fraîche. You can also make this with raw fish – tuna or mackerel – but it must be absolutely fresh. Any lovely little sweet things? Cherries are exceptional this year, thick with the blood of summer. You could almost get drunk on them. There are no restrictions on eating those on your own. Find me here every Saturday and in my Recipes newsletter, which you can sign up to here. If you’re eating out, spare a thought for the restaurateurs. William Sitwell’s column this week questions Andy Burnham’s support for pubs. William Sitwell   Andy Burnham professes a love for the pub. He has said that “the cavalry are coming”. Yet, what’s this? Planned reforms to zero-hours contracts which have me, a pub owner, fearing the worst. Because while it might sound nice and decent to guarantee hours and pay for cancelled shifts, to do so, when hospitality rests uneasily on a knife-edge, would be catastrophic to establishments such as mine. Burnham’s socialist instincts appear to overrule his perception of reality. This is no rescue by the cavalry. Labour’s socialist ideology threatens a charge of the Light Brigade. Read William’s full column ➤   Your say Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes... Thanks for your responses to this week’s newsletters. Monday’s edition – about German PoWs, and the improbable relationships British people struck up with their captive enemies – prompted further recollections.   One reader writes: “When I was an eight-year-old living in Queen’s Barracks, Perth, there were German PoWs in a hut that we used to walk past every day on the way to school. They were very friendly to us, talking through the mesh-covered windows. We learnt the German words to Silent Night. I can still remember the first verse.”   I was also struck by this story from Rachel Dobie: “In the run-up to what must have been the first Christmas after the war ended, my father was allowed to invite a handful of the men from a nearby PoW camp in Morayshire to our home on the day we were to decorate our tree. I recall him joking about marching them there. “They brought gifts for me – a few carved wooden toys and a small box-like room with tiny pieces of carved furniture. (How I wish I had managed to keep these for life.) I noticed that one or two were openly crying as they put the ornaments on the tree, and asked my mother why. They said that it made them think of what their families would be doing without them as they decorated their own trees in Germany. “Eighty years later, I still remember vividly one of the men, his tears, and the decoration in his hand. Sadness, tinged with hope.”   In yesterday’s edition, I was rather down on the eclipse, as one of the many who found the whole thing faintly underwhelming. Maybe we were just in the wrong place, though. One reader reports: “I went to the seafront armed with a colander and white card at 6.45pm. The sun was very strong and I didn’t think anything was happening. Then three kind young ladies shared their special glasses with me. It was amazing.”   Angela Robotham adds: “My grandson and I watched in air-conditioned comfort through the roof of his Tesla car.” That’s all from me for this week, folks – and next week, too. I’m off to Cornwall, just in time for the rain. Fear not, though – my colleagues will continue to bring you the best Telegraph talking points here each day.   Puzzler’s corner Welcome to Andrew Baker’s Saturday quiz. Test your knowledge below to see if you have been paying attention to our newsletters this week... 1. The King has donated an entire wheat field at the Sandringham estate to a maker of what? 2. What is a Hermès Kellywood Perspective Cavalière, one of which sold at auction for £110,000? 3. Readers were advised that Wednesday’s solar eclipse could be safely viewed using which item of kitchen equipment? 4. According to our columnist Stephen Pollard, you have to be a Grade-A moron to do what? 5. How does Australian comedian Garry Starr appear in his Edinburgh Fringe show Classic Penguins? Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords. Yesterday’s Panagram was BELLYACHE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. Plus, can you tackle The 1% Club? Scroll down to see if you got the questions right – and play for free on our website and app.   On this day 1939 | The Wizard of Oz premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood 1945 | The Second World War ends as Japan surrenders, although rogue attacks persist (see our coverage on the following day’s front page) 1998 | Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of the Troubles Birthdays: Jennifer Lawrence (36), Melinda French Gates (62), Sir Mark Thatcher (73), Anne, Princess Royal (76)   Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. Please send me your thoughts on this newsletter. You can email me at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. Quiz answers: Hats Handbag A colander Ride an e-scooter Nude, with flippers   1% Club answers: Day 5 W 5:37   Get 1 year for just £29 Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month. Subscribe now

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