More than 400 people have come forward to lawyers concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group said the majority of the 421 inquiries they were dealing with were “in the Harrods context”, but said others had contacted them from Fulham FC, the Ritz hotel in Paris and elsewhere.
The 421 figure is a combination of alleged victims and witnesses. While the majority are from the UK, 12 women are from America and six from Australia, with others from the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Spain, Thailand, New Zealand, Italy, Romania and Malaysia.
Dean Armstrong KC said at a press conference updating on the legal claims: “This is no longer only about survivors from Harrods. We now have clients who have suffered abuse at Harrods, at Fulham Football Club, at the hands of Al Fayed, and at various places associated with Al Fayed.
“Our survivors have been let down by significant parts of our society, and the threats to them and obstacles placed in front of us as we seek to navigate the path to justice for them has not dimmed – in fact it’s enhanced – our resolve,” he added.
A number of women made allegations against Fayed in a BBC documentary last month.
The BBC’s Al Fayed: Predator At Harrods documentary reported the claims of five women who said they were raped by Fayed, with a number of others alleging sexual misconduct.
Following the programme, more than 250 people are now in the process of claiming damages from Harrods. Fayed died in 2023, aged 94.
Speaking at the press conference in central London, Mr Armstrong added: “In order to ensure that no-one is under any illusions about our resolve, we are delighted to announce that we have reached an agreement with a major law firm who will be handling the processing of these claims.
“The law firm have areas of expertise in this field and, lest anyone be concerned about our ability to fight this cause to the end, backing of over £1 billion.
“Even more exciting, but very sad that we are having to do it, is the fact that we can today announce that the first letter of claim has been sent to Harrods.
“That is the beginning of the formal legal process.
“It’ll be followed today by another and it’ll be followed the day after by others, and it’ll be followed by hundreds more.
“If we are pushed, if our survivors are pushed, into having to defend themselves in order to achieve justice, we are ready, we are resourced and we are determined.
“This statement of our intent is the clearest signal possible that it is time for Harrods, time for the Fayed estate and time for Fulham FC amongst other sporting institutions to understand that now is the time to do the right thing.”
The Metropolitan Police asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge the former Harrods and Fulham FC owner in relation to only two out of 21 women who made allegations, including of rape and sexual assault, between 2005 and 2023.
Evidence was shown to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to go ahead with either because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction”.
Another member of the legal team, Bruce Drummond, said the first letter of claim concerned one alleged victim, but added: “It’s literally the first of hundreds to come - it’s going to snowball and snowball.”
Questioned on how many “enablers” of Fayed’s alleged sexual misconduct had been identified by the group, barrister Maria Mulla said: “It was a very large web.
“Some of them are still alive - it’s not in our ability to name names or announce who those individuals are.”
Fayed acquired Harrods for £615 million in 1985. In 2010, after 26 years in charge, he sold the department store to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5 billion.
Harrods said in a previous statement: “These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms. We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”
