Fayed accuser says complaint was “dismissed by superior”

Catherine says when she told her manager about the incident, it was dismissed. She sees it as an example of a wider corporate culture at Harrods that enabled Fayed's behaviour.

“I explained [my line manager] what happened… and he just brushed it off and said something like, 'oh, you know, that's just the way he is,'” she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

When the incident occurred, she held “a very junior position” in the London department store.

One weekend she was told to bring some shop musicians to Fayed's office and then to come back to his office.

She said, “So I went back upstairs and we went into a little room in the back, just him and me.”

Fayed then offered her a job in his office, she said – an offer she turned down because it was not in her area of ​​expertise.

“Then he held my hand and asked if I had a boyfriend and I laughed politely and said yes.

“And he said, 'No, you don't have a boyfriend, I'm your boyfriend, you don't need that donkey' – that was weird and obviously I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable at that point.”

She said Fayed then kissed her on the forehead, told her to think about the job and gave her £300 in cash – which she returned shortly afterwards along with a formal rejection of the role.

“He kissed me on the forehead. I know a lot of people have mentioned this whole fatherly approach thing, but I have boundaries. It was horrible, and you know, holding hands and being very close was not normal,” she said.

She says she contacted the BBC this week to amplify the allegations against Fayed.

More than 20 women told the BBC that they were sexually harassed or raped by businessmen while working at London's luxury department store Harrods.

A team of lawyers represents at least 37 women, each of whom has filed their own civil claims.

Catherine said her experience seemed “absolutely nothing” compared to these allegations – but I think it is important to gather evidence of a pattern of behavior and culture.

She condemned the working environment at Harrods, which she said regularly allowed such incidents to occur – allegations the department store has denied. Harrods was owned by Fayed from 1985 to 2010 and now has a new owner – who said this week he did not become aware of the allegations until 2023.

Catherine told the BBC: “It was somehow known that he behaved in a certain way and recruited young women to work in the factory or in his office.”

“And it seemed to happen without any questions.”

Her comments were echoed by other accusers who said many people at Harrods knew about Fayed's alleged behaviour.

“I believe there were people at Harrods at the time who enabled this and they are just as guilty as Fayed because they were not just passive spectators. They actually helped one girl after another into a total nightmare,” Catherine said.

She called for “individuals” to be identified and “questioned about their involvement.”

“As the evidence suggests, this is essentially manipulation and they should be brought to justice,” she added.

Catherine's testimony comes at a time when more and more women are speaking out about Fayed's behavior and new details have emerged about failed attempts by police and prosecutors to bring Fayed to justice while he was still alive.

A legal team representing many of the women the BBC spoke to outlined their case against Harrods on Friday.

The store's new owners said: “These were the actions of an individual seeking to abuse his power wherever he operated, and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms.”

“We also recognize that his victims were abandoned during this time and for that we sincerely apologize.”