Nineteen women make Fayed abuse claims to Met Police

Force urges victims to come forward after raft of allegations made against former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94

Nineteen women have made allegations against Mohamed Fayed, the former Harrods owner, to the Metropolitan Police, the force has revealed.
The reports, made between 2005 and 2023, included three allegations of rape, 15 reports of sexual assault and one related to trafficking. The offences are said to have taken place between 1979 and 2013.
Between 2005 and 2023, the Met approached the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on five occasions – two of these, in 2009 and 2015, were to pass full files of evidence.
However, in all 19 allegations that were reported to police, no further action was taken against Fayed, who died last year aged 94.
The Metropolitan Police also announced it was looking into any other people who “could be pursued for criminal offences” over sexual abuse allegations against Fayed.
The force is asking potential victims who have not come forward to do so.
“It is important to make clear at this stage that it is not possible for criminal proceedings to be brought against someone who has died,” the force said in a statement. This means there is no prospect of any conviction relating to Fayed himself.
“However, we must ensure we fully explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences.
“As such, we are carrying out full reviews of all existing allegations reported to us about Al Fayed to ensure there are no new lines of enquiry based on new information which has emerged.”
It comes as Michael Ward, the managing director of Harrods, claimed that he was “not aware” of Fayed’s predatory sexual abuse.
Fayed has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual abuse in the wake of a BBC documentary about his alleged attacks.
Mr Ward has been under mounting pressure to reveal what he knew about Fayed’s alleged attacks after managers were accused of presiding over a “culture of secrecy and fear”.
Mr Ward, who has been in the post since 2006, oversaw the luxury retailer both while it was under Fayed’s ownership and afterwards. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr Ward.
In a written statement, Mr Ward accused his former boss of presiding “over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.
Mr Ward said an independent review was underway into issues arising from the allegations and that he had “provided all the information I have to ensure my own conduct can be reviewed alongside that of my colleagues”.
In a statement, he said: “As we have already stated, we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry.
“As someone who has worked at Harrods since 2006, and therefore worked for Fayed until the change of ownership in 2010, I feel it is important to make it clear that I was not aware of his criminality and abuse.
“While it is true that rumours of his behaviour circulated in the public domain, no charges or allegations were ever put to me by the police, the CPS, internal channels or others.
“Had they been, I would, of course, have acted immediately.”