Harrods worker says Al Fayed complaint was 'brushed off by line manager'

Fresh allegations are being made astir erstwhile Harrods brag Mohamed Al Fayed by a erstwhile idiosyncratic who says her enactment manager "brushed it off" erstwhile she complained astir inappropriate advances.

The woman, named Catherine, contacted the BBC aft reports this week from different women saying they were sexually assaulted by the millionaire.

Catherine said she was a 21-year-old Harrods idiosyncratic erstwhile she was called into Al Fayed's bureau wherever helium made "uncomfortable" advances including kissing her connected the forehead, inviting her to enactment successful his bureau and saying helium was her boyfriend.

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

Catherine says that erstwhile she told her enactment manager astir her incident, it was dismissed - and she regards it arsenic 1 illustration of a wider civilization astatine Harrods which enabled Al Fayed's behaviour.

"I explained to [my enactment manager] what happened... and helium conscionable wholly benignant of brushed it disconnected and was benignant of similar 'oh you know, that’s conscionable what he’s like'", she told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.

She says she was a postgraduate "in a precise inferior role" successful the London section store erstwhile the incidental happened.

One play she was told to bring immoderate store musicians up to Al Fayed's bureau and aft that was asked to travel backmost to his office.

She said: "So past I went backmost up and we went into a small country astatine the back, conscionable him and I."

Al Fayed past invited her to instrumentality a occupation successful his office, she said - an connection she turned down due to the fact that it was not successful her country of expertise.

"He past held my manus and asked if I had a fellow and I benignant of politely laughed and said yes.

"And helium said 'No, you don’t person a boyfriend, I’m your fellow you don’t request that donkey’ - which was unusual and evidently I’m much and much uncomfortable by this point."

She said Al Fayed past kissed her connected the forehead, told her to deliberation astir the occupation and handed her £300 successful currency - which she returned soon aft on with a ceremonial rejection of the post.

"He kissed maine connected the forehead. I cognize a batch of radical person mentioned this full happening astir this fatherly attack but I person boundaries. It was horrible, and you know, holding hands, being successful precise adjacent proximity, was not normal," she said.

She says she contacted the BBC this week to adhd to the value of accusations against Al Fayed.

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• Fayed was 'a monster enabled by Harrods' - lawyer
• It feels bully to alteration Fayed's legacy, says survivor
• Mohamed Al Fayed accused of aggregate rapes by staff
• More women archer BBC they were sexually assaulted by ex-Harrods boss

More than 20 women person told the BBC the businessmen sexually assaulted oregon raped them portion they worked astatine Harrods luxury section store successful London.

A ineligible squad is representing astatine slightest 37 women who person engaged successful abstracted civilian ineligible claims.

Catherine said she felt her acquisition compared to those allegations "feels similar perfectly thing - but I deliberation it's important successful benignant of gathering up that grounds of a signifier of behaviour and culture."

She condemned the workplace situation astatine Harrods which she said had allowed specified actions to regularly hap - claims that person been rejected by the section store. Harrods was owned by Al Fayed from 1985 until 2010 and is present nether caller ownership - which said this week it was not alert of the allegations until 2023.

Catherine told the BBC: "It was benignant of known that helium behaved successful a definite mode and preyed upon young women and young women were recruited to enactment connected the store level oregon to enactment successful his office.

"And that seemed to spell without immoderate benignant of question."

"I deliberation that determination were radical astatine Harrods astatine the clip who were enablers and they are arsenic blameworthy arsenic Al Fayed due to the fact that they were not conscionable passive onlookers. They were really helping miss aft miss into a full nightmare."

She has called connected "individuals" to beryllium identified and "questioned connected their collusion".

"It is fundamentally grooming arsenic the grounds suggests and they should look justice," she added.

Catherine's grounds comes arsenic much women talk retired astir Al Fayed's behaviour. New details person besides emerged of failed efforts by constabulary and prosecutors to clasp Fayed to relationship during his life.

A ineligible squad representing galore of the women the BBC has spoken to, outlined their lawsuit against Harrods connected Friday.