Police have been reviewing multiple allegations of rape or
sexual assault against the billionaire owner of the famed London
department store. Al Fayed was never prosecuted and died last
year at 94 years old.
The Metropolitan Police said late Friday that it referred itself
to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after two women
came forward in recent weeks with concerns about how their
allegations were handled by officers when first reported in 2008
and 2013.
“Although we cannot change the past, we are resolute in our goal
to offer every individual who contacts us the highest standard
of service and support," said Stephen Clayman, from the police
force's specialist crime team.
The police watchdog said it will assess the information provided
before deciding if further action is needed.
Allegations against Al Fayed have grown since the BBC broadcast
claims by several former Harrods employees in September.
Police and Harrods executives have faced questions about why
action wasn’t taken against Al Fayed while he was alive. He was
questioned by detectives in 2008 over the alleged sexual abuse
of a 15-year-old, and in 2009 and 2015 police passed files of
evidence about him to prosecutors. He was never charged.
Clayman said police are “actively reviewing” 21 sex crime
allegations against Al Fayed that were made to police prior to
his death to determine whether any more investigations are
possible.
The force said last month that in addition to those claims, 40
more women have made allegations of rape or sexual assault
against the tycoon since September.
The Egypt-born businessman moved to Britain in the 1960s and
bought Harrods in the mid-1980s. Al Fayed sold Harrods in 2010
to a company owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign
wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.
The current managing director of Harrods, Michael Ward, has
apologized to former employees who said they were sexually
assaulted by Al Fayed. Ward said it is clear Al Fayed “presided
over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of
repercussion and sexual misconduct.”
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