More than 150 other women have made allegations of sexual assault against Al Fayed, the lawyer of …

September 21, 2024, 09:35 am | Updated: September 21, 2024, 09:40 am

Since Friday's press conference, at least 150 other women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Mohamed Al Fayed, a lawyer for the alleged victims told LBC.

Dean Armstrong KC told LBC's Matthew Wright he expected more women to file lawsuits against the late billionaire and former Harrods owner.

They have already represented 37 women, so that around 190 women are currently filing lawsuits against Al Fayed.

Mr Armstrong said: “Thirty-seven of them have already registered. Overnight, we must have had over 150 more register. We expect there will be more.”

He added that Harrods and other companies must work harder to protect women from sexual predators.

Mr Armstrong said: “One of the things I hope and believe will come out of this is the importance of future corporate responsibility to employees – making sure they have a safe system of work.”

He added that “the fact that the facilities and resources of the corporation were used to carry out these [alleged] Behavior is something that needs to be addressed very urgently.”

At a press conference on Friday outlining the allegations against the late Harrods owner, it was said there had been a “systematic failure of corporate responsibility”.

Mr Armstrong told reporters: “And the responsibility for this systematic failure lies with Harrods.”

LBC's Matthew Wright talks about his own experiences with Al Fayed

The legal team also represents women who worked at the Ritz in Paris and investigations are underway into “all companies in which he was involved”, including Fulham Football Club.

The legal team appeared in a documentary called “Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods,” in which more than 20 former female employees spoke to the broadcaster as part of a special investigation and made allegations of assault and physical violence in buildings in London and Paris.

Sources within Harrods have stated that the company has accepted vicarious liability for Mr Al Fayed's conduct to settle claims from alleged victims brought to its attention since 2023 and has reached settlements with the vast majority of those affected.

It is understood that Harrods has received new enquiries since the documentary aired.

LBC's Charlotte Lynch reports on the latest on the Al Fayed case

Mr Armstrong said the legal team had been instructed by 37 of Mr Al Fayed's accusers and was “in the process of being instructed by many more”.

Also speaking at the press conference was one of Mr Al Fayed's alleged victims, a person known as Natacha, who said the “instilling fear has paralysed me”.

She said: “These private meetings tended to evolve into a forced kiss, with his hands pressing your face to his lips or pulling you down onto his lap where his hands were free to explore any part of your body he wanted.”

“These incidents lasted only seconds, but the fear they triggered paralyzed me.

“Al Fayed dismissed these moments as if they had never happened, but I was always reminded not to mention them to anyone.”

Mr Al Fayed had previously been accused of sexually harassing and groping several women, but a previous police investigation did not result in any charges.

Harrods had previously said it was “extremely appalled” by the allegations of abuse and had set up a page on its website encouraging former employees to come forward if they make allegations.

More to follow.