Harrods looking into whether current staff involved in Fayed allegations
Harrods says it is looking into whether any current members of staff were involved in any of the allegations against the storeâs former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.
One former Harrods employee, known as Jessica, has told BBC News a manager, who still works at the store, failed to investigate when she complained about Fayedâs inappropriate behaviour.
Jessica alleges she was pushed against a wall and sexually assaulted by Fayed in 2008, when she was 22.
The store says there is an ongoing internal review which includes âlooking at whether any current staff were involved in any of the allegations either directly or indirectlyâ.
It also says it is in direct communication with the Metropolitan Police.
Fayed, who died last year aged 94, is accused of multiple counts of rape and attempted rape by several women who worked for him â many of whom felt unable to report what had happened until recently.
Jessica, not her real name, said after she was sexually assaulted she went to HR to complain and to hand her notice in.
She said she felt too intimidated by Fayed to detail the sexual assault in the meeting, but she did complain about his inappropriate behaviour, including him giving her large sums of money.
She said she was left in no doubt the people in the meeting knew there was a sexual element to her complaint.
And she told the BBC one of the people in the room still worked at Harrods in a senior role.
She said she felt threatened and forced to sign a document that she believes was a non-disclosure agreement by âmultiple people in the roomâ.
âThere was no shock, no empathy⊠and it was made very clear they were not going to talk further on the topic,â she said.
Jessica is considering taking legal action but had never spoken about her experiences until the BBC documentary about Fayed was aired last week.
âI feel quite strongly that the people who facilitated this need to be brought to justice,â she said.
âAnd that is part of the reason why I am now speaking out about it.
âThose people I can see are still working either within the company or in other companies.
âI have no doubt they have to have been fully aware of what was happening.â
She added: âYes obviously [Fayed] is gone, but his name can still be tarnished for what he did to all of these people. So I do feel like a certain amount of justice can be brought.â
In separate claims, Jessica said another manager at Harrods âcherry-pickedâ young girls for Fayed and âfacilitatedâ his predatory behaviour towards them.
Jessica said she was âpimpedâ by the female manager, who she said felt Fayed would be attracted to her, and organised for him to meet her.
She said: âItâs quite clear to see the actions that happened to put me in front of him came directly from her.â
Harrodsâ current owners have previously said they were âutterly appalledâ by the allegations against Fayed and had been seeking to settle claims âin the quickest way possibleâ since new information came to light in 2023.
When BBC News put Jessicaâs story to Harrods, the store confirmed there was an ongoing internal review â although it did not say when it had started.
âThe Harrods settlement process was designed in consultation with independent external counsel and experts in personal injury litigation,â the statement said.
âAll claims settled to date and moving forwards will be based on the guidance of these external individuals to ensure swift and impartial outcomes for the victims.
âAs part of our due diligence there is an ongoing internal review (supported by external counsel) including looking at whether any current staff were involved in any of the allegations either directly or indirectly.
âIn addition, the Harrods board has established a non-executive committee of the board to further consider the issues arising from the allegations.
âHarrods is also in direct communication with the Metropolitan Police to ensure we are offering our assistance with any of their relevant inquiries.â