Accuser says Mohamed al Fayed was a ‘predator’ who ‘preyed on the most vulnerable’
Mohamed al Fayed was a “predator” who “preyed on the most vulnerable”, one of his alleged victims has said.
The billionaire was described as a “monster enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” by lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at a press conference in London.
Dean Armstrong KC said the case “combines some of the most horrific elements” of those including Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
The Egypt-born businessman, who died last year at the age of 94, took control of the luxury department store in 1985 and later expanded his business interests to include the Paris Ritz and Fulham Football Club.
One of his alleged victims, Natacha, said she was a “young, naive and totally innocent” 19-year-old when she moved to London.
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‘Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster’ says Dean Armstrong KC.
She believed she had been given “the chance of a lifetime” when she got a job at Harrods in central London and thought it seemed “entirely innocent” when she was offered extra money and gifts to take home to her parents.
“Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lion’s den, a lair of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct,” Natacha said, describing Fayed as a “predator”, who “preyed on the most vulnerable”.
She said she was summoned to Fayed’s private apartment one night “on the pretext of a job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view” she said. “I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Alleged victim of sexual abuse: ‘I had walked into a lions den’
‘Scared and sick’
Natacha said that after she managed to “kick herself free”, he laughed at her and told her “never to breathe a word of this to anyone”, leaving her feeling “scared and sick”.
More than 20 female former employees have spoken of suffering assaults and physical violence at properties in London and Paris in an investigation published by the BBC.
Read more: Egyptian tycoon was never far from controversy
Five of the women said they had been raped by Fayed, while another has now come forward to claim she was subjected to a “sickening” sexual assault by the billionaire.
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.
‘Corporate exploitation’
Barrister Bruce Drummond told the press conference it is “one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation” that he and “perhaps the world has ever seen”.
Most of the victims were aged 19 to 24, while some were as young as 15 or 16, and were specially selected for their roles before being told to undergo private invasive medical examinations, lawyers said.
Pic: AP
US lawyer Gloria Allred, who has represented accusers of Weinstein, R Kelly and Bill Cosby, said the allegations include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual battery and sexual abuse of minors.
She said there was “something rotten at the core of Harrods”, where “underneath the glitz and glamour was a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment”.
The alleged attacks are said to have taken place at locations including the London department store, as well as the Ritz in Paris and the former Duke of Windsor’s residence in the French capital.
‘Terror was reinforced by threats’
Lawyers said they were aware of allegations made by employees at other businesses owned by Fayed and are representing women who worked at the Ritz.
“He used his wealth and his power to manipulate and control female victims for his sexual pleasure,” Ms Allred said.
Most of his alleged victims were “terrified and felt they had no place to turn,” she said and their “terror was reinforced by threats, surveillance and phone tapping”.
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Mr Armstrong said the claim shows an “abject failure of corporate responsibility” by Harrods and “it is time they took responsibility”.
“This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein,” he said.
“Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.
“Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls – as you know there are some very young victims.
“And Weinstein because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
“We will say plainly, Mohamed al Fayed was a monster.”
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Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women, but a 2015 police investigation did not lead to any charges.
He fought a long campaign following the death of his son, the film producer Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana in 1997, alleging the Paris car crash was not an accident but had been orchestrated by the British security services.
‘Utterly appalled’
Harrods said in a statement: “We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed al Fayed.
“These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
“We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
“This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.”
Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: “We are aware of various allegations of sexual offences made over a number of years in relation to the late Mohamed al Fayed which were reported to the Met.
“Each one was investigated and, where appropriate, advice from the Crown Prosecution Service was sought. No charges resulted from these investigations.”
It’s just gone 7.30pm – and outside a synagogue in north Manchester, we’ve heard the shofar, a ceremonial horn, being blown to mark the end of the long day of prayers.
The streets, which had been so quiet all day, fill with people and families.
We’re just minutes away from where the attack took place.
But people haven’t had their phones on in synagogue – and we find ourselves in the slightly surreal position of having to tell people what happened to members of their community, just a few roads away.
Manchester synagogue latest: Suspect in killing named
Rachel gasped as she heard the news
“Did many people get hurt?” Rachel, in her 70s, asks me.
I tell her two have died.
She gasps and says: “My gosh. It’s the holiest day of the year.
“Very, very frightening. We’re not safe.”
Read more:
Witnesses describe how attack unfolded
What we know about synagogue attack
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Earlier in the day on these streets, we saw additional police patrols, with officers telling us they were here to reassure members of the public.
But people are accustomed to seeing security here.
Both paid and volunteer security staff, in their hi-vis jackets, are a permanent fixture outside every synagogue.
It’s to help protect a community that, even before this attack, has felt under threat.
‘The security is not the solution,’ this man said
“The security is not the solution,” one man tells me as he heads home from prayers. “Those who really want to do [something like this], they will do it with lots of security, it doesn’t matter.”
Among everyone we spoke to, there was a sense of shock at what had happened, but perhaps not necessarily surprise amid rising acts of antisemitism in the UK.
David Yehudi
David Yehudi and the rabbi he studied with said it had felt like a long time coming.
“As a grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, I feel as if this is before 1935 again,” he says. “That’s the overwhelming feeling all over the world.”
The rabbi asked ‘where is the United Nations?’
The rabbi adds: “The United Nations was set up with the intention of ‘never again’, and where is the United Nations? In terms of the global support against antisemitism. It’s just not there anymore. We are as unsafe as we were before the war.”
It is a shocking thing to hear, on this, the most solemn of days.
The UK’s chief rabbi has described the terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester as “the tragic result of Jew hatred”.
Two Jewish men were killed outside Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The attacker, named by police as Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the incident.
Britain’s chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis. Pic: PA
Sir Ephraim Mirvis said it was “the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come”.
He celebrated the “courageous leadership” of rabbi Daniel Walker, who has been praised for his efforts to keep his congregation safe as the terrorist tried to get inside.
In a post on X, Sir Ephraim wrote: “For so long we have witnessed an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, on campuses, on social media and elsewhere – this is the tragic result.
“This is not only an assault on the Jewish community, but an attack on the very foundations of humanity and the values of compassion, dignity and respect which we all share.”
He added: “May the victims’ memories be for a blessing and may the injured be granted a swift recovery.
“I pray that this tragedy strengthens our collective resolve to confront antisemitism, in all its guises, once and for all.”
Read more:
Witnesses describe how attack unfolded
What we know about synagogue attack
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said the attack “was sadly something we feared was coming” at a time of rising antisemitism in the UK.
They said: “We are devastated at the loss of two members of our Jewish community, and our thoughts are with their families, those who are injured and receiving treatment, and all those who have been affected by this act of antisemitic terror.”
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Thanking the government, the King, the prime minister and senior politicians for their support, they added: “At this dark time, these acts of solidarity will be a comfort to our community.
“At a time of rising antisemitism in the UK, this attack was sadly something we feared was coming. We call on all those in positions of power and influence to take the required action to combat hatred against Jewish people.”
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‘We’re not safe, we’re not safe’
The chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Olivia Marks-Woldman, said antisemitism “has no place in our society” and “we must confront it whenever it arises”.
“We are horrified by today’s antisemitic attack in Manchester. Taking place on Yom Kippur, a moment of atonement and reflection, it is a truly horrendous event,” she said.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victims and with the Jewish community in Manchester and across the UK, who will understandably feel shocked and afraid.”
The president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, called for more to be done to “stamp out murderous ideologies”.
He added: “Jews in Manchester, England, woke up this morning to pray, and were murdered in their own synagogue. Governments from the world over should spare us the statements about fighting antisemitism and instead ensure Jews are safe.”
Prince William has said “change is on my agenda” when he becomes king, in his most open and personal explanation to date about how he sees his future role and the future of the monarchy.Â
The revelations come during a discussion with Hollywood actor Eugene Levy as they were filming at Windsor Castle for Levy’s travel series The Reluctant Traveller.
When asked if the monarchy will be shifting in a slightly different direction when he becomes king, William says: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda.
“Change for good, and I embrace that and I enjoy that change. I don’t fear it, that’s the bit that excites me – the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen.”
Pic: Apple TV+
What could be described as William’s manifesto for the monarchy comes out in an unexpectedly candid interview with the Schitt’s Creek star.
The Prince of Wales also opens up about being “overwhelmed” by family problems last year – as both Kate and the King were diagnosed with cancer – and his desire to try to “make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents”.
Describing how he is driven by both his passion to protect his family and his desire to ensure everything is in place when Prince George one day becomes king, he says: “I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, in a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better.
“That is caveated with, I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I grew up in. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.”
Pic: Apple TV+
On being monarch one day, he says: “It’s not something I wake up in the morning and think about.”
But in an earlier part of the programme, he does talk more about his desire to potentially shake things up, albeit with a caveat.
He says: “I think it’s very important that tradition stays, and tradition has a huge part in all of this, but there’s also points where you look at tradition and go, is that still fit for purpose today?”
In an incredibly open admission about sometimes feeling overwhelmed, especially last year – “the hardest year” – he also appears to reveal a man now more at peace with the role that lies ahead for him.
Eugene Levy and Prince William. Pic: Apple TV+
Speaking in St George’s Hall inside the castle, he says: “Stuff to do with family overwhelms me, quite a bit.
“You know, worry or stress around the family side of things, that does overwhelm me quite a bit. But in terms of doing the job and things like that, I don’t feel too overwhelmed by that. Not now anyway.”
His own childhood, and how that has impacted his thoughts on the media, also come across clearly, at times appearing to echo his brother Prince Harry’s thoughts on the press and drive to protect his own family from what they went through as children.
William, front, pictured with his mother, Princess Diana, and Harry in 1985. Pic: Reuters
As he talks to Levy in a pub in Windsor, William says: “Growing up, I saw that with my parents … the media were so insatiable back then.
“And if you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family.”
Those close to the prince believe the interview is the most publicly vulnerable they’ve ever seen him on camera.
The special episode of The Reluctant Traveller With Eugene Levy on Apple TV+ with William airs from today.
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