Former Harrods employee accuses Mohamed al Fayed and his brother Salah of assaulting her in 1990s
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.
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.
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.
More recently it has come to light that his brother, Salah, may have also been an abuser.
Lawyers representing the victims have described the abuse, which took place in the 1990s and 2000s, as a gross example of corporate sexual exploitation.
A police investigation is also under way. The Metropolitan Police, which is being investigated by the police watchdog over its handling of past allegations, is now investigating associates of al Fayed who may have facilitated or assisted the abuse.
Both Salah and Mohamed have died, so cannot be held to account in the criminal courts.
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.”
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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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’.”
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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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.”
The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running.
Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.
Read more: Thousands of jobs at risk as British Steel consults unions over closure
The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.
The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.
The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.
These steel workers could soon be out of work
However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.
Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.
However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.
They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.
The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.
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Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.
“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”
British Steel declined to comment.
UK
Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace branded ‘crude attempt to enrich himself’ as Chinese spy documents set to be released
Prince Andrew’s efforts to make money from his Pitch@Palace project have been branded as a “crude attempt to enrich himself” at the expense of “unsuspecting tech founders”, as new documents may shed more light on what he and his team have been attempting to sell.
Today is the deadline for documents to be released relating to Prince Andrew‘s former senior adviser Dominic Hampshire and his interactions with the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
In February, an immigration tribunal heard how the intelligence services had contacted Mr Hampshire about Mr Yang back in 2022. Mr Yang helped set up Pitch@Palace China, a branch of the duke’s scheme to help young entrepreneurs.
The alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, has links with Prince Andrew
Yang Tengbo. Pic: Pitch@Palace
Judges banned Mr Yang from the UK, saying his association with a senior royal had made Prince Andrew “vulnerable” and posed a threat to national security. Mr Yang challenged that decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Since that hearing, media organisations have applied for certain documents relating to the case and Mr Hampshire’s support for Mr Yang to be made public. SIAC agreed to release some information of public interest. It is hoped they may include more details on deals that he was trying to do on behalf of Prince Andrew.
So what do we know about potential deals for Pitch@Palace so far?
In February, Sky News confirmed that palace officials had a meeting last summer with tech funding company StartupBootcamp to discuss a potential tie-up between them and Prince Andrew relating to his Pitch@Palace project.
The palace wasn’t involved in the fine details of a deal but wanted guarantees to make sure it wouldn’t impact the Royal Family in the future. Sky News understands from one source that the price being discussed for Pitch was around £750,000 – there are, however, reports that a deal may have stalled.
Photos we found on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce website show an event held in Asia between StartupBootcamp and Innovate Global, believed to be an offshoot of Pitch.
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Who is alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo?
Documents, released in relation to the investigations into Mr Tengbo, have also shown how much the duke has always seen Pitch as a way of potentially making money. One document from 21 August 2021 clearly states “the duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding”.
But Prince Andrew’s apparent intention to use Pitch to make money has led to concerns about whether he is unfairly using the contacts and information he gained when he was a working royal.
Norman Baker, former MP and author of books on royal finances, believes it is “a crude attempt to enrich himself” and goes against what the tech entrepreneurs thought they were signing up for.
Read more:
Who is Yang Tenbo?
Virginia Giuffre says she has days to live
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He told Sky News: “The data given by these business people was given on the basis it was an official operation and not something for Prince Andrew, and so in my view, Prince Andrew had no right legally or morally to take the data which has been collected, a huge amount of data, and sell it…
“And quite clearly if you’re going to sell it off to StartupBootcamp, that is not what people had in mind. The entrepreneurs who joined Pitch@Palace did not do so to enrich Prince Andrew,” he said.
Rich Wilson was one tech entrepreneur who was approached at the start of Pitch@Palace to sign up, but he stepped away when he spotted a clause in the contract saying they’d be entitled to 2% equity in any funding he secured.
He feels Prince Andrew is continuing to use those he made a show of supporting.
He said: “It makes me feel sick. I think it’s terrible – that he is continuing to exploit unsuspecting tech founders in this way. A lot of them, I’m quite grey and old in the tooth now, I saw it coming, but clearly most didn’t. And a lot of them were quite young.
“It’ll be their first venture and you’re learning on the trot, so to speak. So to take advantage of people in such a major way – that’s an awful, sickening thing to do.”
We approached StartupBootcamp who said they had no comment to make, and the Duke of York’s office did not respond.
With reports that a deal may have stalled, it could be a big setback for the duke – especially with questions still about how he’ll continue to pay for his home on the Windsor estate now that the King no longer gives him financial support.
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