Harrods must take responsibility for a string of rapes allegedly committed by the “monster” Mohamed Fayed, lawyers have said.
Barrister Dean Armstrong KC, who is representing some of the tycoon’s reported victims, told a press conference that the case “combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein”.
He said: “I have many years of practice… I have never seen a case as horrific as this.
“Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.
“Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls – as you know there are some very young victims.
“And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
“We will say plainly, Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster.”
It comes after new allegations about Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, were published by the BBC.
More than 20 women claimed they were sexually assaulted by the billionaire, and five of those said they were raped.
The women, who worked at Harrods from the late 1980s to the 2000s, said assaults were carried out at the company’s offices, in Fayed’s London apartment or on foreign trips, often at the Ritz hotel in Paris.
It is claimed he would regularly tour the department store’s sales floors to identify young female assistants he found attractive before isolating and attacking them.
The BBC revealed the allegations in a documentary and podcast called Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods. In the expose, the broadcaster claims Harrods not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations against Fayed.
At the press conference on Friday morning, Mr Armstrong urged the department store to ensure the victims were properly compensated.
He said: “We are here to say publicly and to the world, or Harrods in front of the world, that it is time that they took responsibility, and it is time that they set matters right, and that is something they should do as soon as possible.
“They need to face up to accept the responsibility, that they have full culpability for the abuse that these women suffered.
“Today, we are going to set out our claim and how our claim shows an abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system of work.”
US lawyer Gloria Allred told the press conference Harrods was a “toxic, unsafe and abusive environment” under the chairmanship of Fayed.
She said: “The allegations against Mohammed Fayed include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual battery, and sexual abuse of minors. They involved doctors administering invasive gynaecological exams as a condition of employment for some of the employees who were targeted by Mohammed Fayed for sexual abuse.
“The allegations also include the unauthorised disclosure to Mohammed Al Fayed of the examination results of employees he targeted for sexual abuse.
“Underneath the Harrods glitz and glamour was a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment.”
Mr Armstong said his team was working on behalf of 37 alleged victims.
Another barrister, Bruce Drummond, added that the scandal is “one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation” that he and “perhaps the world has ever seen”.
He said: “It was absolutely horrific and I can’t stress that word enough.”
Mr Drummond said some of Mr Al Fayed’s accusers have ended up in “psychiatric care”.
He said: “This should never have happened and Harrods must accept responsibility for the damage these women have suffered.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, a Harrods spokesman said: “Since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.
“While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.”
