2 months ago
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Mohamed Al Fayed's lad has said helium is "horrified" by allegations of intersexual maltreatment made against his precocious father, which person "thrown into question the loving representation I had of him".
Dozens of women person accused the erstwhile Harrods proprietor - who died past twelvemonth aged 94 - of aggregate rapes and intersexual assaults.
Lawyers hoping to bring a lawsuit against the section store are present representing 60 women, aft a BBC probe revealed the claims of implicit 20 women past week.
Omar Al Fayed said his begetter had been a "wonderful dad", but added that this "does not unsighted maine from an nonsubjective appraisal of circumstances".
In a nationalist statement, the 36-year-old biology entrepreneur said: "The grade and explicit quality of the allegations are shocking and has thrown into question the loving representation I had of him.
"How this substance could person been concealed for truthful agelong and successful truthful galore ways, raises further disturbing questions."
He continued: "Throughout history, radical successful positions of powerfulness person each excessively often been shielded from the consequences of their actions, and justness has often been delayed oregon denied to those who person suffered...
"I firmly judge that anyone recovered blameworthy of specified reprehensible actions, including having had facilitated, enabled oregon helped screen up specified actions, nary substance their status, indispensable beryllium held accountable.
He went connected to say: "The alleged victims and nationalist merit afloat transparency and accountability."
Omar Al Fayed expressed enactment for "any morganatic probe into these allegations", adding: "I volition proceed to enactment the principles of truth, justice, accountability, and fairness, careless of wherever that travel whitethorn lead.
"No 1 is supra the law, and each victims merit their time successful court."
He besides criticised the BBC for its extended reporting connected the allegations.
Omar Al Fayed was appointed to the Harrods committee of directors successful 2006 and remained connected it until his begetter sold the concern successful 2010.
The section store's existent owners person said they were "utterly appalled" by the allegations and has condemned his actions "in the strongest terms".
They acknowledged that during the clip Harrods was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, "as a concern we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise".
They added: "The Harrods of contiguous is simply a precise antithetic organisation to the 1 owned and controlled by Al Fayed betwixt 1985 and 2010, it is 1 that seeks to enactment the payment of our employees astatine the bosom of everything we do."
Harrods said it has a compensation strategy for ex-employees who accidental they were attacked by Mohamed Al Fayed, and that it has already reached fiscal settlements with the bulk of radical who person approached it since 2023.
Victims and erstwhile unit person said that helium preyed connected young women hired by the company, threatening them against speaking retired astir his behaviour.
Lawyers representing galore of them said the billionaire utilized surveillance successful Harrods and intrusive aesculapian checks to undertake "systematic abuse".
They person besides said that determination was "credible evidence" of instances of maltreatment taking spot astatine different businesses and properties erstwhile owned by Al Fayed.
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