Al Fayed abuse ‘could be on scale of Savile’ – survivors’ advocate

The standard of Mohamed Al Fayed’s intersexual maltreatment could beryllium akin to that of Jimmy Savile’s, Harrods’ newly-appointed survivors’ advocator has told the BBC.

There has been a torrent of allegations against the precocious billionaire businessman since a BBC documentary successful September broadcast the claims of 20 women.

Speaking astir her assignment earlier this month, Dame Jasvinder Sanghera said she had been contacted by a erstwhile pupil from a schoolhouse for deaf children.

Al Fayed “had entree to susceptible young women from that school”, she said, adding that grounds she had heard suggested that Al Fayed’s “tentacles went acold and wide”.

The schoolhouse told the BBC that arsenic acold arsenic it was alert Al Fayed did not person entree to the school, and that it takes safeguarding precise seriously.

“We could beryllium talking astir thing connected the standard of Jimmy Savile,” Dame Jasvinder told BBC Radio 4’s World astatine One programme.

“What we bash cognize is that determination are galore radical - and survivors person said this to maine already - that were complicit [in Al Fayed’s abuse].

“They looked the different way. This could not person happened without radical knowing astir it, and helium utilized his presumption of powerfulness and influence.”

Savile was one of Britain’s astir notorious and prolific enactment offenders. He was a TV presenter and DJ who, until his decease successful 2011, utilized his salient presumption to rape and sexually battle hundreds of people.

In 2012, the Metropolitan Police said they believed there were 450 victims of Savile's abuse. He often utilized philanthropic enactment arsenic a screen for his crimes.

Dame Jasvinder added that determination are presently astir 290 women engaged successful Harrods’ compensation process for erstwhile employees who accidental they had been abused by Al Fayed, and that she had written a idiosyncratic missive to each of them.

Separately, much than 70 women person contacted the BBC since the documentary was broadcast, with accounts of maltreatment by Al Fayed, including intersexual harassment, intersexual battle and rape.

But Dame Jasvinder believes determination are others who person not yet travel forward.

She added that she is keen to talk to each victims of Al Fayed’s abuse, adjacent if they didn’t enactment astatine Harrods.

Al Fayed is alleged to person besides abused women astatine different businesses helium owned, including the Ritz Paris edifice and Fulham FC.

She said: “If you look astatine the breadth of the abuse, this didn’t conscionable hap successful Harrods. I’m already proceeding from survivors who are saying this happened successful different areas.”

The Harrods compensation strategy is lone unfastened to radical who worked for the company.

But Dame Jasvinder said she “would ne'er crook anybody distant that was successful request of enactment – adjacent if they request to entree maine to speech that through, for maine to beryllium capable to place the due level of enactment oregon process for them.

“I would perfectly promote anyone affected by this, oregon who whitethorn cognize idiosyncratic that’s affected, who conscionable wants to person a speech astir the process, to perfectly interaction me.”

Dame Jasvinder is simply a salient quality rights campaigner and the laminitis of the foundation Karma Nirvana, which helps victims of honour-based abuse.

She has antecedently spoken astir her parents attempting to unit her to wed when she was a teenager, her escape, and being disowned arsenic a result.

Dame Jasvinder was besides a subsister advocator connected the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board until the sheet was sacked successful June 2023, erstwhile the Church said relations betwixt committee members and bishops had "broken down".

Harrods launched an interior reappraisal past twelvemonth to spot whether anyone progressive successful immoderate allegations is inactive moving there. As yet they person declined to accidental whether immoderate enactment has been taken against immoderate individual, oregon erstwhile the reappraisal mightiness beryllium completed.

Hundreds of women are besides moving with abstracted ineligible firms successful claims against the retailer.

At a property league past month, Justice for Harrods Survivors, which represents immoderate of the accusers, said much than 400 alleged victims and witnesses had been successful interaction with them.

Most of the 421 prospective claims were connected to Harrods, but others related to incidents astatine different businesses owned by Al Fayed, the radical said.

The survivors included radical from the UK, US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia, the lawyers added.

Al Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods, which aired successful September, heard grounds from much than 20 pistillate ex-employees astatine Harrods.

The documentary and podcast recovered that during Al Fayed's ownership, Harrods not lone failed to intervene but helped screen up maltreatment allegations.

Responding to the investigation, Harrods' existent owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed - for which the store sincerely apologised.