Harrods and Met Police could face legal action

London luxury group Harrods and the Metropolitan Police may face legal action following revelations of allegations against the former billionaire boss.

It was revealed that billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed was accused of multiple cases of rape and attempted rape by several women who worked for him, over the years dating back to the 1980s.

The former owner of Harrods, the Ritz Paris hotel and Fulham FC football club died last August at the age of 94.

British law firm Leigh Day and US law firm Motley Rice have announced they are launching investigations into potential legal claims relating to allegations of human trafficking, serious sexual abuse and exploitation of former Harrods employees.

The law firms are also investigating whether potential claims can be made against the Metropolitan Police over allegations that survivors have reported abuse but insufficient action has been taken.

Leigh Day and Motley Rice are not alone. At a press conference on Friday, Maitland Chambers lawyers Dean Armstrong KC, Bruce Drummond of New Bailey Chambers and Maria Mulla of Maitland Chambers will focus on individual claims against Harrods on behalf of each of their clients.

Both investigations are still in the investigation phase and no claims have yet been filed.

The civil claims will initially focus on Harrods and the company’s “systematic failure of social responsibility”, but “nothing was ruled out”, Armstrong KC told reporters.

On Monday, one of Leigh Days’ clients, who is an alleged victim, called on the British government to launch a statutory public inquiry into the allegations against Al Fayed and “others who facilitated or failed to take action”.

The client (known as Joan) said: “I believe Jess Phillips MP said on the Today programme last week that she would be guided by what survivors want to see in terms of investigations – well, I am one of those survivors and I am calling for a statutory inquiry. I hope that as Minister for Protection and Violence Against Women and Girls she will support my call and get this underway as soon as possible.”