Harrods’ managing director expresses regret over abuse allegations against Al Fayed, now facing numerous claims from victims.QuoteQ
LONDON — The boss of Harrods on Thursday deeply apologized for the bad times that let a really toxic environment grow under Mohamed Al Fayed, with now even more serious accusations of sexual misconduct and assault popping up.
Michael Ward talked about how he was shocked to hear from five women who said they were raped by Al Fayed and shared that over 37 women are looking for legal help as the story gets bigger.
Ward was really upset about what happened during Al Fayed’s time at Harrods, saying he created a place where secrets were kept, people were scared, and the safety of employees was ignored.
Ward said he didn’t know about any illegal or bad behavior while working there for four years, admitting that “people were talking about him behind his back.”
Al Fayed owned Harrods for 25 years before selling it in 2010 to the Qatar Investment Authority.
He’s left a mess of a legacy. Ward said, “We let our coworkers down and we’re really sorry about that,” and announced they’re starting a process to help the people who were hurt.
They called this a “dark time” for the business and pointed out that Harrods is a completely different place now than it was when Al Fayed was in charge.
Harrods apologizes to women who say they were abused by former owner Mohamed Al Fayed https://t.co/4SoYZ7V9q6
— CTV News (@CTVNews) September 26, 2024
The police in London said that 19 women have complained about Al Fayed between 2005 and 2023, including three cases of rape and many other claims of sexual assault.
Even though he was questioned by the police in 2008 about possible sexual abuse of a kid and other investigations, Al Fayed was never charged with anything.
The police are looking into these claims now to see if they can find new information and are encouraging anyone else who was hurt to speak up, saying it’s important to see if anyone else involved should be held accountable.
As the investigation goes on, Al Fayed’s family hasn’t said anything about it.
Born in Egypt, Al Fayed moved to Britain in the 1960s and got Harrods in the mid-1980s.
He became famous for owning the Fulham soccer team and for the drama that surrounded his son Dodi’s death with Princess Diana in 1997.
After the accident, Al Fayed kept spreading wild stories about the British royal family being involved, even though investigations showed no one was to blame and the crash was caused by Dodi’s speeding and chasing after paparazzi.