Mohamed Al Fayed has twice escaped charges of sexual assault, prosecutors admit, while nearly 200 …

22 September 2024, 07:09

Prosecutors have admitted that they twice refused to bring sexual assault charges against Mohamed Al Fayed while he was alive. Now, following his death, nearly 200 women have brought charges against the late billionaire.

The former owner of Harrods and Fulham FC, who was described as a “monster” by a lawyer for some of his alleged victims earlier this week, has twice been referred by police to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with evidence against him.

Mr Al Fayed was charged with an indecent offense against a 15-year-old girl in 2008, but he denied the charge.

When the case was brought to the attention of the CPS in 2009, it declined to prosecute on the grounds of conflicting evidence.

Mr Al Fayed is alleged to have raped a woman in 2013. The case was re-investigated by police in 2015, but none of the investigations led to charges.

Read more: Fulham 'protected' players from Al Fayed, while ex-manager says sexual harassment allegations were 'no surprise'

Read more: Mohamed Al Fayed's accuser says she was “tested for purity” and “subjected to an AIDS test without her consent”

Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions of the CPS in 2009. His successor, Alison Saunders, was DPP in 2015. A Downing Street spokesman said of the 2009 allegations: “Keir did not handle this case. It did not cross his desk.”

A CPS spokesman said: “We have reviewed evidence files provided by the police in 2009 and 2015.”

“In order to bring charges, the CPS must be satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of conviction – in any case, our prosecutors have carefully considered the evidence and concluded that this is not the case.”

This is the first time the CPS has acknowledged the 2015 investigation. They also gave Al Fayed initial investigative advice in 2008, 2021 and 2023.

Commander Kevin Southworth, the British police's head of public protection, said: “We are aware of several allegations of sexual assault made over a number of years in connection with the late Mohamed Al Fayed that have been reported to British police.”

“Each individual case was investigated and, where appropriate, the advice of the Public Prosecutor was sought. No charges resulted from these investigations.”

Natasha Devon describes how a “culture of misogyny” manifested itself at Harrods

Mr Al Fayed died last year at the age of 94 without ever being charged, and this week a wave of allegations emerged against him over his alleged conduct at Harrods.

Meanwhile, a former manager of Fulham's women's team claimed the club had to be extra careful to shield female players from his attentions, and a former head of royal protection said he warned the royal family about Mr Al Fayed before Princess Diana took Prince Harry and Prince William on holiday.

Dai Davies, the head of royal security and responsible for the security of Queen Elizabeth II, says he and others were aware of Mr Al Fayed's reputation as early as the 1990s.

At least 187 women have made allegations against Mr Al Fayed – about 150 of them since the first press conference on Friday.

Dean Armstrong KC, a lawyer for the alleged victims, told LBC's Matthew Wright on Saturday that he expected more women to file lawsuits against the late billionaire and former Harrods owner.

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.”

Journalist who exposed Al Fayed in 1995 reveals the ‘deep dark mind’ of the former Harrods boss

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.”

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

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 Charlotte Lynch reports on the latest on the Al Fayed case

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.

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.”

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.