Mohamed Al Fayed twice escaped charges over sexual abuse

Crown Prosecution Service reveals police files were rejected in 2009 and 2015 — as 150 victims and witnesses come forward

The Crown Prosecution Service admitted it decided not to bring charges against Mohamed Al Fayed after receiving evidence from the police on two occasions. Picture: Shaun Curry/AFP

Lawyers for women who accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of sexual abuse have been contacted by more than 150 survivors and witnesses amid mounting evidence that he was a predator hiding in plain sight.

The accounts came in the days after five women said in a documentary that they were raped by the former owner of Harrods, who died last year at the age of 94. Fifteen others said they had been assaulted.

Amid suggestions the billionaire was a predator on the scale of Jimmy Savile, Harvey Weinstein or Jeffrey Epstein – who all acted with impunity for decades – the Crown Prosecution Service admitted it had twice decided not to bring charges, after being passed evidence from the police.

It has been widely reported that prosecutors felt there was insufficient evidence to put the billionaire on trial in 2009 following claims that he had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.

However, the CPS said yesterday (Saturday) that it was also sent a file by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 following an allegation of rape by another victim.

It is the first time prosecutors have mentioned that they were involved in the 2015 case since Thursday’s documentary. A spokeswoman said: “We reviewed files of evidence presented by the police in 2009 and 2015. To bring a prosecution the CPS must be confident there is a realistic prospect of conviction – in each instance our prosecutors looked carefully at the evidence and concluded this was not the case.”

Lawyers for the alleged victims of Al Fayed at a press conference where his actions were compared with those of Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

Sir Keir Starmer was the CPS’s Director of Public Prosecutions in 2009. The decision not to bring charges six years later was under the watch of his successor, Dame Alison Saunders.

The new questions for police and prosecutors have arisen following the BBC program Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. It has also prompted calls for Harrods bosses and possible “enablers” to be questioned over “collusion” in Fayed’s alleged crimes.

Some of his accusers are taking action against Harrods, which is under new ownership.

In its statement on the documentary, Harrods, which is owned by Qatar, said it was “a very different organisation from the one owned and controlled by Fayed between 1985 and 2010”.

The store added that “since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved”.

The Sunday Times has spoken to another woman who said she was approached by an associate of Fayed at a bus stop in Surrey when she was 31 and invited to an interview for a job.

What followed was an alleged campaign of harassment by the Harrods owner during 2009 and 2010. She has shared a diary with The Sunday Times about her treatment while working as a personal assistant and also called for people around the billionaire to be investigated.

Some of his accusers are taking action against Harrods, which is under new ownership. Picture: AP Photo/Alastair Grant

“I think it’s important that people do know just to the extent of how bad he was, and how complicit other people were around him,” she said. She suspects “a lot of people turned a blind eye”.

Dozens of new alleged victims have also come forward to the BBC, the broadcaster said.

A former Harrods employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told Radio 4’s Today program of “enablers” at the store who were “as guilty as Fayed because they were not just passive onlookers”.

The woman said she was invited into Fayed’s office where he offered her a promotion, kissed her on the forehead and handed her pounds 300, as well as holding her hand and asking whether she had a boyfriend.

She said that after describing the encounter to her male line manager, he “brushed it off” and told her: “That’s just what he’s like.”

Lawyer Dean Armstrong KC. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

Dean Armstrong KC, a barrister representing many of the victims, described the Egyptian billionaire as “a monster enabled by a system that pervaded” the world-famous Knightsbridge store.

“This case involves some of the most horrific elements of cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein,” said Armstrong.

The barrister Bruce Drummond, who is working with Armstrong, said: “This is the worst case of corporate sexual exploitation of young women that … probably the world has ever seen.”

He added that there are victims across the globe, with alleged assaults in places including the US, Canada, France, Malaysia and Dubai.

Gloria Allred, the American lawyer who has specialised in rape and sexual assault cases for 48 years, was called in to help the British legal team last month.

Asked about what a new legal case might involve, Allred told The Sunday Times: “The goal is for the victims to be able to obtain meaningful accountability from the new owners of Harrods which they purchased in 2010. ”

The legal team representing the alleged victims confirmed yesterday (Saturday) morning that they have “had over 150 new inquiries” which relate to a “mix of survivors and individuals with evidence about Fayed”.

The accusations in the documentary date from the late 1980s to the late 2000.

The Times