A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Image: Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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13:55
Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
Three people are in a life-threatening condition after a suspected arson attack at a restaurant in Ilford, say police.
Five people – three women and two men – were injured in the fire, which broke out shortly after 9pm on Friday at Indian Aroma on Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill.
No arrests have been made.
Hospital porter Edward Thawe, 43, went to help with his son after hearing screams from his nearby home.
Image: Woodford Avenue from above. Pic: UK News and Pictures
He described the scene as “horrible” and “more than scary and the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice”.
He said: “I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police.”
He said he saw a woman and a severely burned man who may have been customers.
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He said the man’s “whole body was burnt”, including his shirt, but he was still wearing his trousers.
After being treated at the scene by paramedics from the London Ambulance Service, the victims were taken to hospital.
Image: Indian Aroma in Ilford after the fire. Pic: UK News and Pictures
Nine others were able to get out beforehand, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said in a statement.
“The brigade’s control officers received seven calls about the fire and mobilised crews from Ilford, Hainault, Leytonstone and Woodford fire stations to the scene. The fire was extinguished by 10.32pm,” said an LFB spokesperson.
“We understand this incident will cause concern within the community. My team of specialist detectives are working at speed to piece the incident together,” said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers, of the Met’s Central Specialist Crime North unit.
“Locals can expect to see a large police presence in the area. If you have any concerns, please speak to those officers on the ground.”
The London Ambulance Service told Sky News: “We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team.
Image: Indian Aroma in Ilford after the fire. Pic: UK News and Pictures
“We treated five people for burns and smoke inhalation. We took two patients to a major trauma centre and three others to local hospitals.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting, who is the MP for Ilford North, posted on X to thank the emergency services for their response to the fire.
He also asked his constituents to “please avoid the area for now”.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Met via 101, quoting 7559/22AUG. If you wish to remain anonymous, please speak with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A weekend of protests and counter-protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers began last night, with dozens expected today. It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants if his party wins the next general election.
Saturday is set to see more demonstrations across major towns and cities in England, organised under the Abolish Asylum System slogan, with at least 33 planned over the bank holiday weekend.
The protests are expected in Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley, Canary Wharf, Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland, and Mold in Wales.
Counter-protests – organised by Stand Up To Racism – are also set to be held in Bristol, Cannock, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wakefield, Horley and Long Eaton in Derbyshire.
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2:19
Govt to appeal migrant hotel ruling
It comes after Friday night saw the first demonstrations of the weekend, including one outside the TLK hotel in Orpington, south London.
Dozens of protesters could be heard shouting “get them out” and “save our children” next to the site, while counter protesters marched to the hotel carrying banners and placards which read: “Refugees welcome, stop the far right.”
The Metropolitan Police said a large cordon was formed between the two groups and the hotel, and later confirmed that no arrests were made.
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Abolish Asylum System protests were also held in Altrincham, Bournemouth, Cheshunt, Chichester, Dudley, Leeds, Canary Wharf, Portsmouth, Rhoose, Rugby, Southampton and Wolverhampton.
Image: Protesters outside the Holiday Inn Central, Ashford, Kent. Pic: PA
Tensions around the use of the hotels for asylum seekers are at a high after statistics showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers currently staying in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.
Regular protests had been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which started after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on 10 July.
Image: Police officers separate people taking part in the Stand Up To Racism rally and counter protesters in Orpington. Pic: PA
Farage vows ‘mass deportations’ if elected
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has told The Times there would be “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants if Reform UK wins the next general election, vowing to remove the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements to facilitate five deportation flights a day.
When asked by the newspaper whether that would include Afghan nationals at risk of torture or death, he said: “I’m really sorry, but we can’t be responsible for everything that happens in the whole of the world.
“Who is our priority? Is it the safety and security of this country and its people? Or are we worrying about everybody else and foreign courts?”
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Asylum hotel closures ‘must be done in ordered way’
Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said in response that the Reform UK leader is “simply plucking numbers out of the air, another pie in the sky policy from a party that will say anything for a headline”.
She added: “This Labourgovernment has substantially increased returns with 35,000 people removed from the country in the last year alone, a huge increase on the last government.
“We are getting a grip of the broken asylum system. Making sure those with no right to be here are removed or deported.”
Labourhas pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029.
ConservativeMP and shadow home secretary Chris Philp also accused Reform UK of recycling Tory ideas on immigration.
“Nigel Farage previously claimed mass deportations were impossible, and now he says it’s his policy,” he added. “Who knows what he’ll say next.”
Home Office stops Norfolk hotel
It comes after South Norfolk Council said it had been told that the Home Office intends to stop housing asylum seekers at the Park Hotel in the town of Diss – which has also seen demonstrations over the last month.
Protests broke out there after officials said they would send single men to the hotel rather than women and children. The hotel’s operator had warned it would close if the change was implemented.
A Home Office spokesperson said on Friday that “we are not planning to use this site beyond the end of the current contract”.
In response, Conservative council leader Daniel Elmer said: “The Home Office thought it could just impose this change and that we would accept it.
“But there is a right way of doing things and a wrong way, and the decision by the Home Office was just plain wrong.”
He added that while “I welcome the decision, in reality it does mean that the women and children who we fought so hard to protect will now be moved elsewhere, and that is a shame”.
“The government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts,” said Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
The politics is certainly difficult.
Government sources are alive to that fact, even accusing the Tory-led Epping Council of “playing politics” by launching the legal challenge in the first place.
That’s why ministers are trying to emphasise that closing the Bell Hotel is a matter of when, not if.
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What do migration statistics tell us?
“We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way”, said the security minister Dan Jarvis.
The immediate problem for the Home Office is the same one that caused hotels to be used in the first place.
There are vanishingly few accommodation options.
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0:22
Asylum hotel closures ‘must be done in ordered way
Labour has moved away from using old military sites.
That’s despite one RAF base in Essex – which Sir Keir Starmer had promised to close – seeing an increase in the number of migrants being housed.
Back in June, the immigration minister told MPs that medium-sized sites like disused tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or redundant student accommodation could all be used.
Until 2023, regular residential accommodation was relied on.
But getting hold of more flats and houses could be practically and politically difficult, given shortages of homes and long council waiting lists.
All of this is why previous legal challenges made by councils have ultimately failed.
The government has a legal duty to house asylum seekers at risk of destitution, so judges have tended to decide that blocking off the hotel option runs the risk of causing ministers to act unlawfully.
So to return to the previous question.
Yes, the government may well have walked into a political trap here.