A former Harrods employee has claimed Mohamed al Fayed and his brother, Salah, both assaulted her while she worked for the department store in the 1990s.
Speaking on camera about her story for the first time, Rachael Louw told Sky News she was subjected to invasive sexual health tests, surveillance and inappropriate touching while working for the al Fayeds.
During her three years at Harrods Rachael was propositioned by Salah al Fayed, who one night climbed into bed with her while she was working as his personal assistant on his yacht in Monaco. Upon her return to the Harrods store in London, the chairman, Mohamed, also preyed on her.
“There were things that happened there that I didn’t realise were a part of trafficking: Isolation, phone bugging, no time on your own, exposure to these sexually charged situations – almost like to acclimatise you, to groom you into thinking that this is normal,” she said.
Ms Louw was in her early 20s when she moved from university to London in 1993 to work on the shop floor at Harrods. In what has now become a familiar tale among victims who have come forward, she was spotted by the chairman and soon promoted to be his brother’s personal assistant.
Image: Rachael Louw was in her 20s when she worked for Harrods
At the time, she was excited. “You’re entering this whole new lifestyle that is shiny and new and exciting, and I was like, okay, I’m ready for this. This is the next stage for me,” she said.
However, there were early signs that something was not right.
Before taking the job Rachael was subjected to a compulsory sexual health check, conducted by Dr Ann Coxon on Harley Street. In a letter to the chairman’s office, the doctor went into detail about Rachael’s sexual history, her use of contraception, and her body shape, as well as her levels of personal hygiene.
Rachael had no idea her results had been sent to her employer, Mohamed al Fayed. She believes she was trafficked to Monaco for sexual exploitation, and this was the first stage of the process.
Image: Mohamed al Fayed (left) with his brother Salah al Fayed (right) in the stands at a Fulham match in 2007. Pic: PA
She was not alone. Over the past four months, hundreds of women have come forward to detail their experiences of sexual assault and rape at the hands of Mohamed al Fayed.
Lawyers representing the victims have described the abuse, which took place in the 1990s and 2000s, as a gross example of corporate sexual exploitation.
Both Salah and Mohamed have died, so cannot be held to account in the criminal courts.
Image: Then Harrods chairman Mohamed al Fayed unveiling a memorial to his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales, in September 2005. Pic: Reuters
‘I was disgusted and didn’t want to be there’
After the results of her health check were sent through, Rachael was asked to accompany Salah al Fayed on his yacht in Monaco. During that time, her employer became more and more suggestive.
One night, he invited her to another boat where they dined with an older man and two young women.
“He said: did I notice how friendly the girls had been with me? And I said: ‘Yeah, they were really nice’. He said: ‘Well, did you realise they wanted to sleep with you?'”
Rachael added: “Salah said there was an expectation that this evening would become something that involved all of us,” and that “the idea had been to have group sex”.
“I was shocked and disgusted and didn’t want to be there.”
Image: Mohamed al Fayed and his brother Salah in 2006. Pic: Shutterstock
It didn’t end there. One night she was invited to sleep in one of the more comfortable cabins on the boat, which had double beds.
“I had been asleep for a few hours and I felt a movement on the bed… I woke up with a panic of, first, where was I? And then who was this? And I remember saying something like, ‘What are you doing?’ And Salah said, ‘I’m lonely’… I just went ramrod still and he just carried on sleeping there.
“He went to sleep and I lay there the whole night and I didn’t sleep, thinking if I moved, if I turned over, if I did any body movement whatsoever, he would misinterpret that as me giving him an indication that it was okay to touch me.”
“It was probably one of the longest nights of my life,” she added. “And I remember in the morning, aching because I’d been so tense the whole night.”
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2:41
From November: Claims of abuse by Al Fayed’s brother emerge
‘The more I resisted, the more upset he became’
Rachael said she eventually left Monaco after a month of repeated sexual advances. She booked a ticket to London and went back to the shop floor at Harrods. She thought she was safer away from Salah al Fayed but it was during this time that Mohamed assaulted her.
Rachael was asked to visit the chairman at his flat in Park Lane to secure some paperwork she needed to take a sabbatical to Australia.
“I went after my shift. We had dinner. I was not expecting there to be dinner. We had a drink.
“Then Mohamed was showing me around his apartment… then we get to his bedroom. And he’s motioning to the view and I’ve got my back turned to him and he said to me: ‘Let’s talk about your future’.
“I was half expecting him to pull out this paperwork. I turned around and he said: ‘Come sit next to me. Let’s discuss your future’.”
Image: Ms Louw speaking to Sky News about her allegations of abuse
Rachael said Mohamed al Fayed tried to persuade her to stay that day, and not go to Australia. “I will look after you. I will get you an apartment in London. It’s very expensive. I understand these things. If you treat me right, if you’re nice to me, I can make things happen for you’.”
She added: “I was sitting down next to him, and he put his arm around me and his hand started going further up my skirt, higher and higher. And all I could think was that I somehow have to extricate myself from this situation because I needed my paperwork.
“My tickets were booked. It was really expensive… and how do I get out of this situation without offending him?
“All I can remember saying is: ‘My mum didn’t teach me to mix business with pleasure. This isn’t right’.”
“He kept with the verbal coercion, over and over and over, and his arms [were] still around me. This must have gone on for at least 20 minutes.
“The more I resisted, the more upset he became. I ended up pulling away from him. I have no memory of leaving his apartment.”
After the encounter, Rachael left to take her sabbatical in Australia. When she returned, she quit her role at Harrods.
Still a chance of criminal charges
Victim-survivors like Rachael are asking why serious action wasn’t taken by the police to arrest Mohamed, Salah and their alleged enablers over the decades as complaints were made.
The Met has now widened its investigation to look at associates who may have assisted and facilitated the abuse – meaning criminal charges could still be on the cards even though the direct perpetrators have died.
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2:48
From November: Police widen Al Fayed investigation
Harrods, which is now owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, has established an internal review and set up a compensation fund, which it says is in the process of settling with around 250 women.
In a statement to Sky News, the company said: “Harrods supports the bravery of all women in coming forward. Their claims point to the breadth of abuse by Mohamed Fayed and again raise serious allegations against his brother, Salah Fayed. The picture that has emerged suggests that this pattern of abusive behaviour took place wherever they operated.
“We continue to encourage all survivors to make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation… We also hope that they are looking at every avenue open to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
The company added: “Any claims in relation to the behaviour of current staff involved in any of the allegations either directly or indirectly during the time of Fayed’s ownership, will be investigated.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Image: Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Image: Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Image: Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
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Image: Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
Image: JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
Image: A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
Image: A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
Image: JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Image: Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.