Harrods may very well be compelled to pay out tens of millions to feminine staff
Harrods could be in line to pay out tens of millions of pounds to female employees who allege they were sexually abused by Mohamed Al-Fayed, after legal experts accused the Knightsbridge store of ‘systemic wrongdoing’.
The Egypytian businessman has been accused of raping five women during his 25-year tenure at the luxury retail outlet, with at least 15 other women saying they were sexually assaulted by him.
Lawyers have warned that Al-Fayed’s offences could range beyond the allegations made in a BBC documentary, with his other former business interests, including Fulham Football Club, now under scrutiny.
Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, acquired Harrods from House of Frasier in 1985 at a cost of £615million and retained ownership until 2010, when he sold the department store to Qatar Holdings for £1.5billion.
The current owners have said they are ‘utterly appalled’ by the allegations and have condemned his actions ‘in the strongest terms’.
They have also told any potential victims wishing to claim for compensation that they will provide ‘specialist external lawyers, to review and respond to such claims’ , adding that ‘all complaints will be considered individually on their facts’.
Mohamed Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, is accused of raping and assaulting multiple women during his time as Harrods owner from 1985 to 2010
The Egypytian businessman has been accused of dozens of sex attacks by at least 20 women who worked at the prestigious Knightsbridge department store
He has been accused of raping five women during his 25-year tenure at the luxury retail outlet (pictured), with at least 15 other women saying they were sexually assaulted by him
Sophia was hired by Harrods aged 20 in 1988 and has alleged Fayed sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions
While the store has moved to distance itself from Al-Fayed’s ownership, legal experts insist that ‘the company is the same company’, and Harrods remains the most likely defendant in a civil claim.
‘It seems from the information received from those who have contacted us, and the information brought to light in the BBC documentary, that the abuse of young women at Harrods should properly be described as human sex trafficking,’ said Richard Meeran, a partner at the London law firm Leigh Day.
‘This is because the recruitment of young women for the alleged purpose of sexual exploitation entailed and depended on systemic wrongdoing by the company, its senior managers and security personnel, as well as the ultimate perpetrator.’
According to the BBC, women who were allegedly assaulted by Al-Fayed were subjected to threats and intimidation by Harrods’ security team in a bid to deter them from speaking out.
It has also been alleged that medical professionals subjected new recruits to intrusive sexual health examinations, the results of which were provided to Harrods and Al-Fayed.
Dean Armstrong KC, a barrister at Maitland chambers in London, stressed that the store’s change of ownership would not limit its potential liability – but also made it clear that ‘nothing was off the table’ in terms of pursuing wider redress.
‘This is, and was, a systematic failure of corporate responsibility, and that systematic failure is on the shoulders of Harrods,’ Armstrong said at a press conference on Friday.
Mohamed Al Fayed attends the Issa show during London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2015 on September 15, 2014
Mohamed Al Fayed pictured during the Dodi Al Fayed and Diana Memorial unveiling at Harrods
Some of Fayed’s assaults are said to have been carried out at his Park Lane property in London (pictured)
Gemma (pictured), who worked as his personal assistant between 2007 and 2009, says she was raped by Al Fayed during a work trip to Paris
‘We will not individualise those who we hold responsible. We are not going to get into the situation where there is any room for anyone to seek to avoid responsibility by saying, ‘It was their fault.’
‘So we pursue Harrods, and we focused on Harrods at this stage, because of the collective corporate responsibility and vicarious liability that these acts and the evidence we have come across shows clearly.’
Armstrong added: ‘I hold out a challenge to Harrods that if Harrods are going to seek to say to us these claims should be barred on the basis of limitation, then they are effectively adopting the argument that threats will always win the day.
‘We will not accept that argument and we are pretty confident the courts won’t either.’
Harrods said in a statement: ‘We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al Fayed. These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
‘We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
‘The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.’
