She said the university's investigation into the appointment and tenure of Mr Arday would be "thorough and transparent" and would "begin as soon as possible". Mr Arday became embroiled in a plagiarism row after The Telegraph reported accusations that he had copied parts of his PhD thesis from another student. Mr Arday has put his apparent plagiarism down to his autism, saying he absorbed information through mimicry. The university has been accused of lowering its standards to employ Mr Arday as its youngest-ever black professor to improve its diversity, equality and inclusion credentials. Durham and Glasgow universities are also investigating the circumstances around Mr Arday's appointment to academic posts, according to Prof Prentice.