Mohamed Al Fayed’s accuser says complaint dismissed by manager

They said they had tried to resolve the claims “as quickly as possible” as “new information came to light” in 2023.

Lawyers for the dozens of female complainants say it was “unthinkable” that Harrods was unaware of the allegations, and argue the owners carried out due diligence checks when they bought the business in 2010.

Dean Armstrong KC, one of the lawyers representing the alleged victims, said they had 37 clients but the number of people who had approached them with claims about Fayed was almost 150.

In an interview with the BBC on Saturday, he said he “knew nothing” about the new information Harrods received in 2023.

He argued that the new owners – who bought Harrods in 2010 – “were either unaware (of the allegations) – which I find very difficult to accept – or refused to acknowledge that there had been sexual misconduct”.

Lawyers allege Fayed was attacked around the world, including in the US, Canada, France, Malaysia and Dubai.

“It really is a global case, it’s not just the UK. It happened all over the world,” another lawyer, Bruce Drummond, told the BBC.

Catherine says her experience took place at Harrods’ flagship store in London.

When she told her manager about her incident, it was dismissed as nonsense. She sees it as an example of a wider culture of ‘collusion’ at Harrods that enabled Fayed’s behaviour.

“I explained to my manager what happened… and he just brushed it off and said, ‘oh you know, that’s just the way he is’,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

She had a “very minor role” when she went on a weekend She was ordered to bring shop musicians to Fayed’s office, whereupon he asked her to return immediately.

“Then I went back upstairs and we went into a little room in the back, just him and I,” she said.

Fayed invited her to work in his office, she said, but she declined because it wasn’t in her area of ​​expertise.

“He grabbed my hand and asked if I had a boyfriend. I smiled politely and said yes.

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

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

“He kissed me on my forehead. I know a lot of people have mentioned this whole fatherly approach thing, but I have limits. It was horrible, and you know, holding my hand, being so close, it wasn’t normal,” she said.

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

More than 20 women told the BBC the businessman sexually abused or raped them while they worked at luxury department store Harrods in London.

Mr Armstrong said his legal team would “achieve much more” than they had already done, given the international nature of the allegations against Fayed.

He said Fayed liked to associate with “what he saw as the upper echelons of society” – including celebrities, footballers and politicians – adding: “The scale of this is likely to increase but the impact of this (on society as a whole) is likely to be much, much greater.”

Catherine said her experience “feels like absolutely nothing compared to the rape allegations – but I think it’s important to gather evidence of a pattern of behaviour and culture.”

She condemned the working environment at Harrods, which she said had regularly allowed such actions to take place – claims the department store has denied. Harrods was owned by Fayed from 1985 to 2010 and is now under new ownership – which this week said the business was operating differently than it did under Fayed.

Additional reporting by Aleks Phillips.

Catherine told the BBC: “He was known to behave in a certain way and harass young women. Young women were recruited to work on the shop floor or in his office.

“And that seemed to go without any doubt.”

Her comments were echoed by other complainants who said many people at Harrods knew about Fayed’s alleged behaviour. Concerns have also been raised about his behaviour at Fulham Football Club, which he used to own.

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

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

“It is in fact a form of grooming, as the evidence suggests, and they should be brought to justice,” she added.

Catherine’s testimony comes as more women are speaking out about Fayed’s behavior. New details have also emerged about failed attempts by police and prosecutors to hold Fayed accountable during his lifetime.

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

The store’s new owners said: “These were the actions of an individual who intended to abuse his power wherever he operated and we strongly condemn these actions.”

“We also recognize that his victims have been let down at this time and for that we sincerely apologize.”

Mr Armstrong said: “To me, this is a corporate Me Too moment.”

Mr Drummond said: “This is the worst case of corporate sexual exploitation of young women that the world has probably ever seen.”