Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son died with Princess Diana, accused of a number of rapes – Nationwide

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An investigation by the BBC has uncovered over a dozen allegations of rape and sexual assault by the hands of Mohamed Al-Fayed, former proprietor of the Harrods division retailer and father of Dodi Fayed, who died alongside Diana, Princess of Wales, in a 1997 automobile crash.

Al-Fayed died final yr on the age 94. The billionaire businessman confronted allegations of sexual assault whereas he was alive, however the BBC documentary Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods, which airs Thursday, represents essentially the most complete assortment of allegations thus far.

Greater than 20 ladies who was employed by Al-Fayed told the BBC that he sexually assaulted them. Lots of them say they have been raped.

Harrods, which was offered by Al-Fayed to the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar in 2010, says it’s “totally appalled” by the allegations in opposition to its former proprietor and apologized to his alleged victims.

“These have been the actions of a person who was intent on abusing his energy wherever he operated and we condemn them within the strongest phrases. We additionally acknowledge that in this time as a enterprise we failed our staff who have been his victims and for this we sincerely apologise,” the division retailer wrote in a media statement, including that the enterprise right this moment is “a really completely different organisation” than it as soon as was.

Harrods is going through a number of civil claims from ladies who say they have been abused by Al-Fayed and that Harrods helped cowl up his alleged crimes. The division retailer says it’s their “precedence to settle claims within the quickest manner attainable, avoiding prolonged authorized proceedings for the ladies concerned.”

The allegations

Ex-employees of Al-Fayed instructed the BBC that it was an open secret he was abusing ladies, however the former Harrods boss cultivated a tradition of concern on the luxurious division retailer that prevented ladies from talking out.

Women and men who used to work for him stated Al-Fayed would repeatedly tour the Harrods gross sales ground, searching for younger ladies staff he discovered enticing. These ladies would then be promoted to work in his places of work upstairs.

Alleged assaults occurred within the Harrods places of work and in Al-Fayed’s quite a few properties, together with a London condo on Park Lane, his Villa Windsor property in Paris and the Ritz resort in Paris, which Al-Fayed owned.

13 ladies instructed the BBC that Al-Fayed sexually assaulted them at his Park Lane handle. 4 of them say they have been raped, together with considered one of his private assistants who labored for Harrods within the Nineteen Nineties.

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The worker, “Rachel” — whose title was modified to guard her id — stated she was known as to Al-Fayed’s luxurious condo after work one night time. Al-Fayed requested her to sit down on the mattress, put his hand on her leg after which received on high of her.

“I bear in mind feeling his physique on me, the load of him. Simply listening to him make these noises. And… simply going elsewhere in my head,” she stated. “He raped me.”

One other girl, who stated she was a teen when Al-Fayed raped her on the Park Lane condo, stated that the billionaire was a “a monster, a sexual predator with no ethical compass in anyway,” and that the workers at Harrods have been his “playthings.”

“We have been all so scared. He actively cultivated concern. If he stated ‘leap,’ staff would ask ‘how excessive.’”

One other considered one of Al-Fayed’s private assistants, recognized solely as “Gemma,” stated her boss raped her throughout a piece journey overseas whereas she was staying at this Villa Windsor property.

“I instructed him, ‘No, I don’t need you to.’ And he proceeded to simply preserve making an attempt to get within the mattress, at which level he was form of on high of me and [I] actually couldn’t transfer anyplace,” Gemma stated. “I used to be form of face down on the mattress and he simply pressed himself on me.”

Gemma stated Al-Fayed instructed her to aggressively wash herself with Dettol, a model of antiseptic cleaner, after the alleged assault.

“Clearly he wished me to erase any hint of him being anyplace close to me,” she stated.

‘Tradition of concern’

One Harrods division supervisor, Tony Leeming, who labored on the retailer from 1994 to 2004, stated it “wasn’t even a secret” that Al-Fayed was abusing staff.

“The abuse of ladies, I used to be conscious of it once I was on the store ground,” Leeming stated. “And I believe if I knew, everyone knew. Anybody who says they didn’t are mendacity, I’m sorry.”

“We have been conscious that he had this very sturdy curiosity in younger ladies,” stated Eamon Coyle, an ex-deputy director of safety.

Staff have been scared to talk out, nonetheless, due to allegations that Al-Fayed had bugged the shop with telephone faucets and cameras. Coyle alleges that Al-Fayed “bugged everyone that he wished to bug,” and that a part of his job as safety supervisor was to hearken to tapes of recorded calls.

One other worker instructed the BBC: “There was most positively a tradition of concern throughout the entire retailer — from the lowliest of the low, to essentially the most senior individual.”

Al-Fayed’s public picture

Initially from Egypt, Al-Fayed moved to the U.Okay. in 1974 and have become a well known public determine, showing on chat reveals on prime-time TV. His eldest son Dodi turned internationally referred to as Princess Diana’s boyfriend, after her divorce from now-King Charles.

Al-Fayed even seems as a personality within the Netflix collection The Crown, which dramatizes the latest historical past of the British royal household. Al-Fayed was portrayed — fairly favourably, and as a doting, devoted father — by actor Salim Daw.

Al-Fayed’s movie star, due to his media appearances and proximity to the royal household, lent him a picture as a “nice and gregarious” businessman, the BBC stories. However one of many alleged victims says he was “vile” and shouldn’t be remembered in a optimistic mild.

The lady, recognized solely as “Sophia,” stated she labored as Al-Fayed’s private assistant from 1988 to 1991 and that her boss tried to rape her multiple.

“He was vile,” Sophia stated. “That makes me indignant, folks shouldn’t bear in mind him like that. It’s not how he was.”

Sophia stated she was sexually assaulted and felt there was nothing she might do in opposition to her highly effective boss.

“I couldn’t go away. I didn’t have a (household) residence to return to, I needed to pay lease,” she stated. “I knew I needed to undergo this and I didn’t need to. It was horrible and my head was scrambled.”

Self-importance Truthful and ITV ran exposés into Al-Fayed earlier than his demise, in 1995 and 1997, respectively, although the investigations did little to tarnish Al-Fayed’s popularity in the long term.

When the billionaire businessman died in August 2023, tributes flooded in. The actor who portrayed him on The Crown wrote he was “deeply saddened” to listen to of his passing and described Al-Fayed as a “large, who got here from nothing and have become every thing.”

Fourteen of the ladies who the BBC spoke to have introduced civil lawsuits in opposition to Harrods for damages, with their attorneys arguing that the shop was liable for the harmful office.

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In case you or somebody you already know is experiencing abuse or is concerned in an abusive scenario, please go to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assist. They’re additionally reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.