Late Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed accused of rape by female staff

Five women accidental they were raped by erstwhile Harrods brag Mohamed Al Fayed erstwhile they worked astatine the luxury London section store.

The BBC has heard grounds from much than 20 pistillate ex-employees who accidental the billionaire, who died past twelvemonth aged 94, sexually assaulted them - including rape.

The documentary and podcast - Al-Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods - gathered grounds that, during Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not lone failed to intervene, but helped screen up maltreatment allegations.

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

“The spider’s web of corruption and maltreatment successful this institution was unbelievable and precise dark,” says barrister Bruce Drummond, from a ineligible squad representing a fig of the women.

The incidents took spot successful London, Paris, St Tropez and Abu Dhabi.

“I made it evident that I didn't privation that to happen. I did not springiness consent. I conscionable wanted it to beryllium over,” says 1 of the women, who says Fayed raped her astatine his Park Lane apartment.

Another pistillate says she was a teen erstwhile helium raped her astatine the Mayfair address.

“Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a intersexual predator with nary motivation compass whatsoever,” she says, adding that each the unit astatine Harrods were his “playthings”.

“We were each truthful scared. He actively cultivated fear. If helium said ‘jump’ employees would inquire ‘how high’.”

Fayed faced intersexual battle claims portion helium was alive, but these allegations are of unprecedented standard and seriousness. The BBC believes galore much women whitethorn person been assaulted.

Fayed's entrepreneurial vocation began connected the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, wherever helium hawked fizzy drinks to passers-by. But it was his matrimony to the sister of a millionaire Saudi arms trader that helped him forge caller connections and physique a concern empire.

He moved to the UK successful 1974 and was already a well-known nationalist fig erstwhile helium took implicit Harrods successful 1985. In the 1990s and 2000s, helium would regularly look arsenic a impermanent connected prime-time TV chat and amusement shows.

Meanwhile, Fayed - whose lad Dodi was killed successful a car clang alongside Diana, Princess of Wales, successful 1997 - has go known to a caller procreation done the 2 astir caller Netflix bid of The Crown.

But the women we person spoken to accidental his portrayal arsenic pleasant and gregarious was acold from the truth.

“He was vile,” says 1 of the women, Sophia, who worked arsenic his idiosyncratic adjunct from 1988 to 1991. She says helium tried to rape her much than once.

“That makes maine angry, radical shouldn't retrieve him similar that. It's not however helium was.”

Some of the women waived, oregon partially waived, their close to anonymity to beryllium filmed - and the BBC agreed not to usage surnames. Others chose to stay anonymous. Put together, their testimonies uncover a signifier of predatory behaviour and intersexual maltreatment by Fayed.

The Harrods proprietor would regularly circuit the section store's immense income floors and place young pistillate assistants helium recovered attractive, who would past beryllium promoted to enactment successful his offices upstairs - erstwhile staff, antheral and female, told us.

The assaults would beryllium carried retired successful Harrods’ offices, successful Fayed's London apartment, oregon connected overseas trips - often successful Paris astatine the Ritz hotel, which helium besides owned, oregon his adjacent Villa Windsor property.

At Harrods, different erstwhile unit members told america it was wide what was happening.

“We each watched each different locomotion done that doorway thinking, ‘you mediocre girl, it's you today’ and feeling utterly powerless to halt it,” Alice, not her existent name, says.

Rachel, not her existent name, worked arsenic a idiosyncratic adjunct successful Harrods successful the 1990s.

One nighttime aft work, she says she was called to his luxury apartment, successful a ample artifact connected Park Lane overlooking London's Hyde Park. The gathering was protected by information unit and had an on-site bureau staffed by Harrods employees.

Rachel says Fayed asked her to beryllium connected his furniture and past enactment his manus connected her leg, making it wide what helium wanted.

“I retrieve feeling his assemblage connected me, the value of him. Just proceeding him marque these noises. And… conscionable going determination other successful my head.

“He raped me.”

The BBC has spoken to 13 women who accidental Fayed sexually assaulted them astatine 60 Park Lane. Four of them, including Rachel, accidental they were raped.

Sophia, who says she was sexually assaulted, described the full concern arsenic an inescapable nightmare.

“I couldn't leave. I didn’t person a [family] location to spell backmost to, I had to wage rent,” she says. “I knew I had to spell done this and I didn’t privation to. It was horrible and my caput was scrambled.”

Gemma, who worked arsenic 1 of Fayed’s idiosyncratic assistants betwixt 2007-09, says his behaviour became much frightening during enactment trips abroad.

She says it culminated successful her being raped astatine Villa Windsor successful Paris's Bois de Boulogne - a erstwhile home, post-abdication, of King Edward VIII and his woman Wallis Simpson.

Gemma says she woke up startled successful her bedroom. Fayed was adjacent to her furniture wearing conscionable a silk dressing gown. He past tried to get into furniture with her.

“I told him, ‘no, I don't privation you to’. And helium proceeded to conscionable support trying to get successful the bed, astatine which constituent helium was benignant of connected apical of maine and [I] truly couldn't determination anywhere.

“I was benignant of look down connected the furniture and helium conscionable pressed himself connected me.”

She says aft Fayed raped her she cried, portion helium got up and told her aggressively to lavation herself with Dettol.

“Obviously helium wanted maine to erase immoderate hint of him being anyplace adjacent me,” she explains.

Eight different women person besides told america they were sexually assaulted by Fayed astatine his properties successful Paris. Five women described the assaults arsenic an attempted rape.

Al-Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods

A BBC probe into allegations of rape and attempted rape by Mohamed Al Fayed, the erstwhile proprietor of Harrods. Did the luxury store support a billionaire predator?

Watch Al-Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods connected BBC iPlayer now oregon connected BBC Two astatine 21:00 connected Thursday 19 September.

“The maltreatment of women, I was alert of it erstwhile I was connected the store floor," says Tony Leeming, a Harrods section manager from 1994 to 2004. It “wasn't adjacent a secret”, recalls Mr Leeming, who says helium did not cognize astir much superior allegations of battle oregon rape.

"And I deliberation if I knew, everybody knew. Anyone who says they didn't are lying, I'm sorry".

Mr Leeming's grounds is backed up by erstwhile members of Fayed's information team.

“We were alert that helium had this precise beardown involvement successful young girls,” says Eamon Coyle, who joined Harrods successful 1979 arsenic a store detective, past became lawman manager of information from 1989-95.

Meanwhile Steve, who does not privation america to usage his surname, worked for the billionaire betwixt 1994-95. He told america that information unit “did cognize that definite things were happening to definite pistillate employees astatine Harrods and Park Lane”.

Many of the women told america that erstwhile they began moving straight for Fayed they underwent medicals - including invasive intersexual wellness tests carried retired by doctors.

This was presented arsenic a perk, the women told us, but galore did not spot their ain results - adjacent though they were sent to Fayed.

“There is nary payment to anybody knowing what my intersexual wellness is, unless you're readying to slumber with somebody, which I find rather chilling now,” says Katherine, who was an enforcement adjunct successful 2005.

All the women we spoke to described having felt intimidated astatine enactment - which had made it hard for them to talk out.

Sarah, not her existent name, explained: “There was astir decidedly a civilization of fearfulness crossed the full store - from the lowliest of the low, to the astir elder person.”

Others told america they believed the phones successful Harrods had been tapped - and that women had been frightened of talking to each different astir Fayed’s abuse, fearing they were being filmed by hidden cameras.

The ex-deputy manager of security, Eamon Coyle, confirmed this - explaining however portion of his occupation was to perceive to tapes of recorded calls. Cameras that could grounds had besides been installed passim the store, helium said, including successful the enforcement suites.

“He [Fayed] bugged everybody that helium wanted to bug.”

Harrods told the BBC successful a connection these had been the actions of an idiosyncratic “intent connected abusing his power” which it condemned successful the strongest terms.

It said: “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.”

There were a fig of attempts to exposure Fayed earlier his decease - notably by Vanity Fair successful 1995 - with an nonfiction alleging racism, unit surveillance and intersexual misconduct. This sparked a libel lawsuit.

Mohamed Al Fayed aboriginal agreed to driblet the lawsuit arsenic agelong arsenic each the further grounds the mag had gathered of his intersexual misconduct successful mentation for a proceedings was locked away. Fayed’s colony was negotiated by a elder Harrods executive.

In 1997, ITV’s The Big Story reported further superior allegations including intersexual harassment and groping - which is classed arsenic intersexual assault.

One of the women successful the BBC investigation, Ellie, not her existent name, was 15 successful 2008 erstwhile she reported an battle to the constabulary - an allegation that made headlines - but did not effect successful immoderate charge.

In 2017, Channel 4’s Dispatches broadcast allegations of groping, battle and harassment, with 1 pistillate waiving her close to anonymity for the archetypal time. It gave immoderate women the courageousness to travel guardant - and was followed by a 2018 probe connected Channel 4 News.

But it is lone now, with Mohamed Al Fayed having died past year, that galore of the women person felt capable to talk publically astir rape and attempted rape.

The BBC documentary reveals that, arsenic portion of Gemma's colony successful 2009, she had to motion a non-disclosure statement (NDA), a legally-binding declaration which ensures accusation remains confidential.

She says aft she was raped, she contacted a lawyer who told Harrods she was leaving her occupation connected the grounds of intersexual harassment. Gemma says she did not consciousness able, astatine that time, to disclose the afloat grade and seriousness of Fayed's assaults.

Harrods agreed she could permission and it would wage a sum of wealth successful speech for her shredding each grounds and signing an NDA. Gemma says a subordinate of Harrods’ HR squad was contiguous arsenic the shredding took place.

The BBC has heard that women were threatened and intimidated by Harrods' then-director of security, John Macnamara, to halt them speaking out.

Fourteen of the women we spoke to precocious brought civilian claims against Harrods for damages. The shop's existent owners, who are not asking women to motion NDAs, started settling these successful July 2023.

It took Sophia and Harrods 5 years to scope an agreement. In her case, the store expressed regret but did not admit liability. Many much women are present considering ineligible enactment against Harrods.

The barristers representing immoderate of the women we spoke to - Bruce Drummond and Dean Armstrong KC - reason the store was liable for an unsafe strategy of work.

“Any spot of enactment has a work to guarantee the information of its employees. Without question, the institution failed these ladies,” says Mr Drummond.

“That’s wherefore we measurement in. Because they conscionable did thing to really forestall this. They did the opposite. They enabled it.”

Mr Armstrong adds: “We accidental determination person been intelligibly attempts by the elder radical astatine Harrods to expanse this nether the carpet.”

Many much women are present considering ineligible enactment against Harrods.

Barrister Maria Mulla - who is besides connected the ineligible squad representing immoderate of the women - says clients are coming guardant now, due to the fact that antecedently they person been “absolutely petrified” to talk out.

“They privation to beryllium portion of this question of holding radical accountable for what has happened to them, and trying to marque definite these things don't hap again successful the aboriginal for their ain children and for their children.”

Harrods told the BBC: “Since caller accusation came to airy successful 2023 astir historical allegations of intersexual maltreatment by Al Fayed, it has been our precedence to settee claims successful the quickest mode possible. This process is inactive disposable for immoderate existent oregon erstwhile Harrods employees.

“While we cannot undo the past, we person been determined to bash the close happening arsenic an organisation, driven by the values we clasp today, portion ensuring that specified behaviour tin ne'er beryllium repeated successful the future.”

The Ritz edifice successful Paris said it “strongly condemns each forms of behaviour that bash not align with the values of the establishment”.

When Fayed died, unconfirmed reports estimated his worthy successful excess of £1bn. But wealth is not the information for the women to talk out, they say.

“I’ve spent truthful galore years being quiescent and silent, not speaking up,” says Gemma, “and I anticipation talking astir it present helps. We tin each commencement feeling amended and healing from it.”