Harrods has said it’s looking into whether any current staff members were involved in the sex crime allegations against former boss Mohamed Al Fayed.
The store released a fresh statement after a woman who used to work there claimed staff failed to investigate when she complained about Al Fayed’s inappropriate behaviour.
Jessica, not her real name, told the BBC she was pushed against a wall by the Egyptian billionaire and sexually assaulted when she was 22 in 2008.
She said she felt threatened to sign what she believes was a non-disclosure agreement during a subsequent meeting with bosses.
And Jessica has claimed one of the people in the room still works at Harrods in a senior role.
Harrods has said its looking into whether any current staff members were involved in any of the sex crime allegations against former boss Mohamed Al Fayed (pictured)
Mohamed Al Fayed pictured wearing a doorman uniform outside Harrods
Some of Fayed’s assaults are said to have been carried out at his Park Lane property in London
The luxury department store last night announced that it had hired external lawyers to conduct a probe into the role, if any, played by staff still employed by Harrods.
‘As part of our due diligence there is an ongoing internal review (supported by external counsel) including looking at whether any current staff were involved in any of the allegations either directly or indirectly,’ a spokesman said in a statement.
‘In addition, The Harrods Board has established a non-executive committee of the Board to further consider the issues arising from the allegations.
‘Harrods is also in direct communication with the Metropolitan Police to ensure we are offering our assistance with any of their relevant inquiries.’
MailOnline has contacted Harrods for further comment.
Lawyers representing women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed say they have now had more than 150 enquiries since a damning BBC documentary aired last week.
Five women allege they were raped by Al Fayed, with dozens of others claiming sexual misconduct.
The new enquiries relate to a ‘mix of survivors and individuals with evidence about Al Fayed’.
Other lawyers and victims have called for a public inquiry to expose how the alleged sexual abuse and trafficking at Harrods was allowed to continue for decades.
Bruce Drummond, one of the barristers representing the recently formed Justice for Harrods Survivors group which includes 37 victims, said the case for a public inquiry is ‘compelling’.
His team has warned that the worst of the allegations are yet to emerge, and that Al Fayed was not the only perpetrator in the abuse in some of the cases.
‘This scandal goes to the heart of many public institutions and the only way we are going to get proper answers is through the full force of transparency,’ he added.
Mr Drummond said the store’s current managing director Michael Ward, who has been at Harrods since 2005, faces serious questions over how much the world famous shop knew about the abuse at the time.
He added: ‘Michael Ward should be clear of what he knew, and when…’
Al Fayed is accused of raping and assaulting multiple women during his time as Harrods owner from 1985 to 2010
Mohamed Al Fayed pictured alongside Diana, Princess of Wales at a charity event held at Harrods in London in 1996
Lawyers representing women claiming they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed say they have ‘had over 150 new enquiries’ since the airing of a damning BBC documentary
He earlier told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday: ‘This is the worst case of corporate sexual exploitation of young women that I have ever seen, and I think probably the world has ever seen.’
He said some of the survivors come from Malaysia, Dubai, Canada and France, while the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which Al Fayed once owned, had also been the scene of alleged assaults.
‘Al Fayed died without being brought to account, but there still must be accountability and justice to help ensure that this cannot happen again,’ one survivor said yesterday.
Urging the Government to act, the victim, known only as Joan, said an inquiry should look at those who facilitated his ‘multi-decade trafficking operation’ at the luxury store which he owned from 1985 to 2010.
‘The abuse suffered by those that worked at Harrods carried on for years and involved others including security and human resources personnel, medical professionals, and others.
‘It is crucial to understand how it was possible to establish a multi-decade trafficking operation at a trusted institution such as Harrods, and how it remained concealed for so long,’ she added.
Richard Meeran, of Leigh Day which is representing Joan, said that a ‘full investigation is the priority’ for the victim and other women in contact with the legal firm.
He said that it was critical that the role of individuals that facilitated and ignored the abuse should be investigated.
A statutory public inquiry has the powers under the Inquiries Act to compel disclosure and witnesses.
Backing calls for a public inquiry, Sir Robert Buckland said the victims also deserved answers over why the authorities had failed to act.
The former Tory justice secretary told the Daily Express: ‘Victims deserve the fullest explanation from the police and CPS as to precisely why their complaints were not prosecuted.
‘In some cases files weren’t even sent for consideration by the CPS which is deeply concerning given the serious nature of these appalling abuses of power and control.’
He said an inquiry was warranted given the ‘shocking extent of (Al Fayed’s) abuses and the degree to which he obtained power and influence’.
Mohamed Al Fayed pictured with the Queen in 1997
Elsewhere Maria Mulla, another barrister in the legal team, told Times Radio that she had heard stories of women at Harrods ‘being put into cupboards’ when Al Fayed was walking round so ‘they wouldn’t be spotted’.
Their comments came as a former Harrods employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme of ‘enablers’ at the luxury store who were ‘as guilty as Al Fayed because they were not just passive onlookers’.
The woman, referred to as Catherine in the programme, said she worked for Harrods in a ‘very junior role’ when she was 21.
Harrods said earlier this week 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 Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.’
Harrods added that it had been a ‘priority’ to settle claims since ‘new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed’.
Sources within Harrods have said the business has accepted vicarious liability for the conduct of Al Fayed for the purpose of settling claims of alleged victims brought to its attention since 2023, reaching settlements with the vast majority.
In its statement on the BBC Documentary, Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods, which aired on Thursday, Harrods said it was ‘a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010’.
The store added that ‘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, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved’.
The CPS admitted that it failed to prosecute Al Fayed in 2009 and again in 2015 while the Met said it investigated various allegations of sexual offences over the years but no charges were ever brought.
Mr Ward did not respond to request for comment by the Mail.