Watchdog to review police handling of abuse claims

The police watchdog will review how Metropolitan Police officers handled allegations of sexual offences against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will review two cases the Met Police investigated in 2008 and 2013 after the force referred itself.

Hundreds of people have contacted the BBC about Harrods and the billionaire since the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods aired.

Over 70 of those were from women who sent the BBC their accounts of abuse by Al Fayed including sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape.

The Met said it had received complaints from two women regarding prior police investigations. The complaints “address concerns about the quality of police response and how details came to be disclosed publicly”, a statement from the Met said.

Police are looking into some abuse claims and Harrods is also settling some claims.

There are allegations that abuse also took place at Fulham FC and the Ritz Hotel Paris, as well as other places owned by Al Fayed.

In September the BBC documentary heard testimony from former Harrods employees who said the billionaire sexually assaulted or raped them.

Since that film was broadcast, the Met has said it has found reports from 21 women who accused Al Fayed between 2005 and his death in 2023. He was never charged.

Last month, the BBC revealed that, during Al Fayed’s lifetime, the Met sent full files of evidence relating to only two of the 21 women to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Following that story, the Met issued a statement which gave the impression it had received early investigative advice from the CPS relating to 10 of the women. This advice is a formal matter where the CPS gives a view of the merits of the case, after the police provide them with the evidence.

However, the CPS later confirmed to the BBC that it only gave such advice in four cases, and the Met told the BBC it accepts this.

Since September this year, 60 more women have come forward to the Met, with at least 70 contacting the BBC itself.

Last week the BBC revealed the Met had received an allegation of sexual assault against Al Fayed from a teenage girl in 1995, meaning the Met had been told about Al Fayed a decade earlier than acknowledged by previous statements, which gave 2005 as the earliest date it received an allegation against him.

An IOPC spokesperson said it had contacted the Met in September to ask if the force had “identified any conduct issues that would require a referral”.

In a statement issued on Friday, the IOPC confirmed it had received two complaint referrals from the Met and would “assess the information provided before deciding what further action may be required”.

Fulham FC told the BBC: “We unequivocally condemn all forms of abuse. We remain in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or would have been impacted by Mohamed Al Fayed in any manner as described in recent reports.”

Al Fayed owned Harrods between 1985 and 2010. The store’s new owners have previously said they are “appalled” by the allegations of sexual abuse and have been investigating since 2023 whether any current members of staff were involved.

Harrods told the BBC that it was in the process of settling more than 250 claims for compensation brought by victims of Al Fayed. That figure has since risen to more than 290.

The boss of Harrods personally apologised after being approached by the BBC.

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