LONDON (AP) — The managing director of Harrods said Thursday the London department store is “deeply sorry” for failing employees who say they were sexually assaulted by late owner Mohamed Al Fayed. Police, meanwhile, said that over almost two decades, 19 women had made sex crime allegations against the businessman, who was never prosecuted.
Michael Ward, the store's boss, said it is clear Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct.”
Five women have told the BBC they were raped by Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, and several others allege acts of assault and physical violence. Lawyers for the accusers say they have been retained by 37 women and the list is growing.
Ward said he was “not aware of his (Al Fayed's) criminality and abuse” during the four years he worked for the Harrod's owner, though “rumors of his behavior circulated in the public domain.”
Al Fayed owned Harrods for a quarter century before selling it 2010 to a company owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.
“We failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry,” Ward said in a statement. He said Harrods had set up a “settlement process” for Al Fayed’s victims.
“This was a shameful period in the business’ history,” the statement said. “However, the Harrods of today is unrecognizable to Harrods under his ownership.”
London’s Metropolitan Police says 19 women made allegations against Al Fayed to the force between 2005 and 2023 — three allegations of rape, 15 of sexual assault and one related to trafficking.
Al Fayed 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 the Crown Prosecution Service.
He was never charged.
The force said on Thursday that it was reviewing the allegations to see whether there were any new lines of inquiry. Police encouraged victims to report abuse, saying that while Al Fayed was beyond the reach of the law, “we must ensure we fully explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences.”
Al Fayed’s family has not commented. The Egypt-born businessman moved to Britain in the 1960s and bought Harrods, an upmarket retail emporium in London’s tony Knightsbridge district, in the mid-1980s.
He became a well-known figure through his ownership of the store and the London soccer team Fulham. He was often in the headlines after his son Dodi was killed alongside Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
Al Fayed spent years promoting the conspiracy theory that the royal family had arranged the accident because they did not approve of Diana dating an Egyptian.
An inquest concluded that Diana and Dodi died because of the reckless actions of their driver — an employee of the Ritz Hotel in Paris owned by Al Fayed — and paparazzi chasing the couple. Separate inquiries in the United Kingdom and France also concluded there was no conspiracy.
Three of Mr Al Fayed's accusers, left to right, Katherine (no surname given), Lindsay Mason and Gemma (no surname given), pose for a photograph after a press conference about the investigation and the legal claim against Harrods for failing to provide a safe system of work for their employees, at Kent House in Knightsbridge, London, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
FILE -A general view of Harrods department store in London, July 1, 2020.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
The U.S. attorney’s office in New York says it will announce “significant public corruption charges” at a news conference later Thursday morning.
The announcement came hours after federal agents entered the mayor’s official residence and seized his phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public.
The indictment caps off an extraordinary few weeks in New York City, as federal investigators have homed in on members of Adams’ inner circle, producing a drum-beat of raids, subpoenas and high-level resignations that have thrust City Hall into crisis.
Here's the latest:
Adams appears to be going about some usual business as he touted a new program to help affordable housing projects become more eco-friendly.
“We’re making sure that we don’t leave anyone behind as we build a greener, cleaner city for working-class New Yorkers,” the mayor said in a statement Thursday morning, without any mention of the indictment.
Adams is the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office. If he were to resign, he would be replaced by the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who would then schedule a special election.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office. Hochul spokesperson Avi Small issued a statement late Wednesday that said “Governor Hochul is aware of these concerning news reports and is monitoring the situation. It would be premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement.”
His former chief of staff, Frank Carone, and deputy mayor for communications, Fabien Levy, were seen entering.
The mood at City Hall, roughly 30 minutes south, was notably quieter. As a gaggle of reporters typed in a press room, the side of the building used by the mayor’s staff was largely silent, with only a handful of aides walking in and out of the normally lively corridor. A portion of the outdoor plaza used as parking for municipal employees featured far fewer city vehicles than usual.
The U.S. attorney’s office in New York says it will announce “significant public corruption charges” at a news conference later Thursday morning.
The announcement came hours after federal agents entered the mayor’s official residence and seized his phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public. The news conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET.
In a video speech released Wednesday night, Adams vowed to fights any charges against him, claiming he had been made a “target” in a case “based on lies.”
The indictment caps off an extraordinary few weeks in New York City, as federal investigators have homed in on members of Adams’ inner circle, producing a drum-beat of raids, subpoenas and high-level resignations that have thrust City Hall into crisis.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ lawyer is calling the large FBI presence at the mayor’s official residence Thursday morning an unnecessary show of force.
“They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in,” attorney Alex Spiro said in a statement.
Spiro said federal agents were at Gracie Mansion “in an effort to create a spectacle (again).”
Dozens of uniformed police officers as well as law enforcement agents in suits milled around the security gate. SUVs with darkened windows came and left, and officers could be seen bringing coffee and doughnuts inside.
This image taken from video released by New York City Office of the Mayor, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, shows mayor Eric Adams speaking during a videotaped statement. (New York City Office of the Mayor via AP)
A vehicle drives out of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Thursday, Sep. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
