Mohamed Al Fayed ‘forced staff to take sexual health tests’ as Harrods accused of ‘covering up’ rape claims against him

MOHAMED Al Fayed allegedly forced unit to instrumentality intersexual wellness tests with Harrods accused of covering up the rape claims against him.

Five women said they were raped by the Harrods tycoon, who died past twelvemonth aged 94, and a further 20 pistillate employees allege Al Fayed sexually assaulted them.

Multiple women who worked at Harrods from the precocious 1980s to 2000s said assaults were carried retired astatine the company’s offices, successful Al Fayed’s London apartment, oregon connected overseas trips often successful Paris astatine the Ritz hotel, according to an investigation by the BBC.

The new documentary - called Al Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods - heard claims that the store not lone failed to intervene but besides helped screen up allegations against the Egyptian billionaire.

Bruce Drummond, a barrister from a ineligible squad representing a fig of the women, said: “The spider’s web of corruption and maltreatment successful this institution was unbelievable and precise dark.” 

However, Harrods’ existent owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations, stressing the institution contiguous is “very different”.

Women recruited successful their teens and aboriginal twenties to enactment arsenic idiosyncratic assistants successful Al Fayed’s backstage bureau claimed that they were required by Wendy Snell, Harrods’s firm GP, to undertake medicals that included intimate examinations.

Former unit claimed that the aesculapian checkups were advertised arsenic “an other perk of the job” and due to the fact that Al Fayed’s lad Dodi “had a debased immune system”.

However, they aboriginal made the harrowing find that it was preparing them for intersexual maltreatment by Al Fayed, who was obsessed with hygiene.

One pistillate claimed she had a smear trial and a doc checked her ovaries.

“My results were sent straight to the president truthful rapidly that by the clip I had got backmost to my desk, helium knew the results,” she alleged.

It is claimed that Al Fayed would regularly circuit the section store’s income floors to place young pistillate assistants helium recovered charismatic earlier isolating and attacking them.

Former unit members recalled however the billionaire initially seemed to beryllium a begetter fig who told them to telephone him “Papa”.

A Harrods quality resources manager betwixt 1990 and 1994 said she was ordered by Al Fayed’s elder adjunct to find charismatic young income assistants helium had seen successful the store and nonstop them to his office.

Tony Leeming, a section manager, admitted: “It was good known and everyone knew astir it and it was a joke.”

When pistillate unit worked late, Al Fayed would promote them to walk the nighttime successful apartments successful a artifact helium owned successful Park Lane successful Mayfair.

But aggregate women allege that they were past invited to the Egyptian billionaire's backstage flat wherever helium would look wearing lone a silk dressing gown.

Four women claimed Al Fayed raped them astatine the Park Lane spot and 13 said they were sexually assaulted.

One pistillate told the BBC she was raped arsenic a teen successful Fayed’s Park Lane apartment.

She said: "Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a intersexual predator with nary motivation compass."

Some assistants accidental they were taken to France wherever there were akin incidents astatine Villa Windsor successful Paris — a erstwhile location of Edward VIII aft his abdication with his woman Wallis Simpson.

Nine women accidental they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed successful Paris, including 1 who said she was raped.

Of the 13 women the BBC spoke to, 4 accidental Al Fayed raped them, and each said they felt intimidated by a civilization of fearfulness astatine Harrods.

One pistillate who spoke to the outlet said she approached police with a rape allegation successful 2008 erstwhile she was 15, but nary charges were filed.

Before the bombshell documentary was released yesterday, Al Fayed had already been accused of groping and sexually assaulting pistillate employees crossed his beingness - including a rape allegation which was investigated by constabulary successful 2015 but did not pb to immoderate charges.

Now, much women who allege that they were attacked person travel guardant yesterday aft the merchandise of the BBC documentary.

Born successful Egypt, Al Fayed was a businessman successful the Middle East earlier moving to the UK successful the 1970s.

He took power of Harrods successful 1985, and purchased the Ritz edifice successful Paris successful 1979.

Harrods said it had settled “a fig of claims [from women] who alleged historical intersexual misconduct by Al Fayed” implicit the past 18 months.

The store said the women were not required to motion non-disclosure orders, which would forestall them discussing allegations.

Harrods said successful a connection to the BBC: "The Harrods of contiguous is simply a precise antithetic organisation to the 1 owned and controlled by Al Fayed betwixt 1985 and 2010.

"It is 1 that seeks to enactment the payment of our employees astatine the bosom of everything we do.

"Since caller accusation came to airy successful 2023 astir historical allegations of intersexual maltreatment by Al Fayed, it has been our precedence to settee claims successful the quickest mode possible.

"This process is inactive disposable for immoderate existent oregon erstwhile Harrods employees.

"While we cannot undo the past, we person been determined to bash the close happening arsenic an organisation, driven by the values we clasp today, portion ensuring that specified behaviour tin ne'er beryllium repeated successful the future."