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Police to explore if anyone can be pursued over Fayed claims

Police have said they will explore if anyone else should be pursued for criminal offences following abuse allegations against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The Met has urged anyone who has not previously come forward with allegations to do so and said it would also review complaints that had already been made.

Nineteen allegations by 19 different women were made to police between 2005 and 2023, relating to incidents which dated back to 1979.

This comes after the BBC heard testimony last week from more than 20 former Harrods employees who said the billionaire sexually assaulted or raped them.

Al Fayed, who died aged 94 in 2023, took over the luxury department store in 1985 and sold it in 2010.

The Met said it was “carrying out full reviews of all existing allegations reported to us about Al Fayed to ensure there are no new lines of enquiry” following allegations reported in the media.

It said officers were making contact with organisations, including lawyers representing individuals whose allegations had featured in media reports.

It added that, while there was no prospect of convicting Al Fayed himself, “we must ensure we fully explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences”.

Commander Stephen Clayman said: “It is vital that any victims have a voice and are able to report any allegations if they have not done so before, and know that they will be taken seriously.”

It said it had specialist teams in place and understood that for many years many people had sought answers.

Separately Harrods’s managing director, Michael Ward, said Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.

He released a statement earlier on Thursday saying Harrods “failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry”.

“We have all seen the survivors bravely speak about the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of Harrods former owner Mohamed Fayed,” he said.

“As we have already stated, we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry.

“While it is true that rumours of his behaviour circulated in the public domain, no charges or allegations were ever put to me by the Police, the [Crown Prosecution Service], internal channels or others.

“Had they been, I would of course have acted immediately.”

He said the “Harrods of today is unrecognisable to Harrods under [Al Fayed’s] ownership” and that the company had set up a settlement process for the victims.

Harrods said that, following a review over the last year, it had introduced 50 “sexual harassment officers” who receive special training to “provide safe, empathetic assistance and support to workers with complaints of sexual harassment”.

Last week, the BBC published a documentary and podcast – Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods – outlining testimony from more than 20 women, including five who say they were raped by Al Fayed.

Former staff said Al Fayed would regularly tour Harrods vast sales floors and identify young female assistants he found attractive, and that they would then be promoted to work in his offices upstairs.

After the allegations were published, more former Harrods employees contacted the BBC to say Al Fayed had assaulted them.

The investigation also uncovered evidence that, during Fayed’s ownership, Harrods failed to intervene over abuse allegations.