Sexual violence Serious allegations against the father of Princess Diana's partner
Despite numerous allegations of sexual violence, the British Crown Prosecution Service has declined to investigate the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. New allegations and civil lawsuits now shed light on the failure of justice.
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- In 2009 and 2015, the British Crown Prosecution Service failed to act on allegations of sexual violence against entrepreneur Mohamed Al-Fayed.
- At the time, it did not have sufficient grounds.
- A BBC documentary recently brought to light numerous allegations made by former employees against Al-Fayed.
- They describe rape and harassment.
- Following the broadcast, further victims came forward and 37 women filed civil suits against Harrods and the Ritz Hotel.
The British Crown Prosecution Service has admitted that it did not investigate allegations of sexual violence against the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed that were made years ago. In 2009 and 2015, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to investigate these allegations against the former head of the London luxury department store Harrods any further, a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Sunday.
Numerous allegations of rape and other sexual violence against the businessman, who died last year at the age of 94, have been making waves in the UK for several days. On Thursday evening, the BBC broadcast a documentary entitled "Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods" ("Al-Fayed: The Predator at Harrods") was broadcast on Thursday evening.
In it, five former Harrods employees testified that they had been raped by the businessman. Five others reported attempted rape and 13 others said they had been sexually harassed by their boss.
On Friday, a team of lawyers then announced civil lawsuits filed by 37 women from all over the world against Harrods and the luxury Ritz hotel in Paris, which was also owned by Al-Fayed. They accuse the companies of failing to protect them from the owner's acts of violence. Lawyer Dean Armstrong described Al-Fayed as a "monster" who had been covered up by a "system".
On Sunday, the legal team then announced that it had received a further 150 reports on the Al-Fayed case. These were "survivors and people who have evidence" against Al-Fayed.
The CPS spokesman said that the police had provided his agency with information on the allegations of violence against the businessman in 2009 and 2015. This information had also been "carefully" examined by the prosecuting authority. However, the CPS came to the conclusion at the time that it was not sufficient to open an investigation, the spokesperson said. A prerequisite for investigations is that "there is a realistic prospect of conviction". However, the authority did not see this.
According to the BBC, in 2008 a 15-year-old girl accused Al-Fayed of a sexual assault in a meeting room at Harrods - which he denied. In 2013, a woman accused him of rape. In both cases, the CPS decided not to investigate the allegations.
The head of the CPS from 2008 to 2013 was the current British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A spokesperson for the head of government, who has been in office since July, explained that Starmer was not involved in the allegations against Al-Fayed in his role at the time and that they had "not been brought to his attention".
Mohamed Al-Fayed was the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 together with Diana, the divorced wife of the then heir to the British throne, Prince Charles.