AMANDA PLATELL: Young Fayed victim whose tragic story is forever etched in my memory

The news that 37 women claimed that the late owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed, raped or sexually assaulted them hit me like a lightning bolt.

Because it reminded me of the shocking moment a few decades ago when a young man came into my office crying and saying that Al Fayed had repeatedly raped his teenage sister. I was a newspaper manager. He was on my team and begged me for help.

He said his pretty sister, who was disabled, had been put on the fast track as part of a Harrods programme and worked on the sales floor.

Like so many impressionable girls, she was flattered that Al Fayed was paying her special attention, and she was too young to realise that he was just teasing her when he gave her expensive jewellery and hundreds of pounds.

Al Fayed persuaded her to move from her East End flat to his Mayfair block of flats, his hideout for raping staff.

On the first night she spent there, he appeared through the side door in an open towelling bathrobe. He forced himself on her and at the same time promised to pay for a £30,000 operation to cure her disability.

Her brother told me that his sister was desperately torn, hoping that his promises were true. Of course, these were all lies that he used to manipulate her as he continued to rape her.

How could someone exploit the hopes and fears of a vulnerable girl in such a cruel way? We eventually helped her escape Al Fayed's clutches and she was reunited with her family, who gave her refuge when she was hurt beyond belief.

I have never forgotten her, and her story was most prominent in my mind this week as these women told their own stories about Al Fayed. Now she is seared into my mind – just a tragic victim who fell for the lies of a monster.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leadership candidate, says working at McDonald's as a teenager “made her working class”. Ridiculous! Kemi is the daughter of a GP and her mother is a professor – she will never be working class!

Elon Musk intervenes in the Huw Edwards scandal, accuses Britain of having “wrong priorities” and likes a tweet by Swedish journalist Peter Imanuelsen: “A BBC presenter just escaped prison for buying pictures of paedophiles, while Britain sentenced a man to 38 months in prison for writing a satirical post about the riots on X. WHAT'S GOING ON???”

The man is right – I am as astonished as he is.

Westminster Wars

• Keir Starmer is the biggest collector of gifts, receiving £107,145 in gifts and earning £128,291 as an MP and opposition leader. Even The Guardian is appalled at the man who promised: “Labour will end the chaos of corruption.” It concludes: “Labour is superior to the Tories.”

• Has any foreign secretary ever had such idiotically bad timing? Just days after Hamas executed six hostages, David Lammy suspended 30 arms export licenses to Israel. Then he announced that global warming was a more pressing threat than terrorism – just before the terrorist group Hezbollah's cellphones and walkie-talkies exploded en masse and Israel launched a series of rocket attacks that could plunge the world into war.

Sue Gray arrives at Downing Street, apparently in pyjamas.

One thing is certain in the wake of the Wardrobegate scandal. Pictures of Starmer's chief of staff, Sue Gray, showing up to work in her pyjamas at least prove that she has not stuck her nose in the trough of free clothes.

The Afghan hell is no longer ours

Afghan women are begging the West for help because, according to Taliban regulations, they are not allowed to appear in public without a man, are not allowed to speak loudly and are forced to cover their entire bodies. Heartbreaking.

But given that Britain has spent £8.4 billion trying to save the country and hundreds of soldiers have lost their lives, we have to say: it is not our problem.

Despite claims he fears for his life should he ever set foot in Britain, Prince Harry will return here later this month to attend the WellChild Awards in London, one of the few British charities he is still associated with.

Palace sources say it is unlikely he will meet his father King Charles as he and Queen Camilla will be in Scotland most of the time until October.

On the other hand, considering that Harry demonized her in his memoirs Spare, one gets the impression that Charles did not exactly have a good feeling about his own moody child.

Sports presenter Gabby Logan says her 19-year-old rugby-playing son Reuben is deeply embarrassed by her podcast “The Mid Point”, in which she discusses her sex life after her husband Kenny was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

It makes him cringe – conversations about penis pumps and first sex after surgery shouldn't be shared on a podcast, he says.

I agree. Gabby is already worth £4 million, so why does she feel the need to send her children into this torturous publicity?

The love of sisters also saved his life

The brother of the Princess of Wales, James Middleton, with his dog Ella

In his book “Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life”, which was serialized in the Mail, James Middleton, the brother of the Princess of Wales, talks about his unbearable suicidal thoughts.

After reading his book, I would say it wasn't the dog that saved him, but the unfailing love of Kate and her sister Pippa, who called him 24/7 demanding to see him when he was going through his darkest days. Dogs are wonderful, but they are no comparison to loving siblings.

Unknown – and unfunny – former comedian Robin Ince, now a left-wing TV presenter, accuses Ricky Gervais of bullying him when they toured together 20 years ago and says he got away with a red rash.

I know the feeling. Every time I see Ricky on stage, I blush with laughter and burst into tears.

Bruised toe and ego

Following the Strictly scandal sparked by actress Amanda Abbington's claim that her dance partner Giovanni Pernice had given her a bruised toe and post-traumatic stress disorder, the first episode of the show's 20th anniversary special flopped, losing more than a million viewers.

She has now performed in a half-empty theatre in north London. And Gio will soon be appearing in front of millions of viewers on the Italian version of Strictly: Dancing With The Stars. Perhaps Amanda not only has a bruised toe, but also a damaged ego.

Melania's ambition is visible to all

Melania Trump in her time as a model

We're told that Melania Trump's autobiography includes previously unpublished nude photos of her, which she says are reminiscent of Renaissance art.

Really? Or is it just a demonstration of their blatant ambition to get Donald re-elected?

Let's face it: nude photos of his rival Kamala Harris are unlikely to improve her chances of becoming president.