More than 400 alleged victims and witnesses have come forward to add to the growing list of sexual assault allegations against former Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed, lawyers in the bombing case said on Thursday.
A BBC documentary in September revealed that Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, sexually abused female staff at his famous London department store, forcing them to undergo medical screenings and complain Threatened with consequences if he tried to do so.
Since the release of the documentary, hundreds of people have accused the long-time Harrods owner of harassment, assault and rape while they were his employees, according to bbcThe charges span a period of more than 30 years.
“Unfortunately, the level of abuses committed by Al Fayed and supported by those around him continues to grow,” lawyer Dean Armstrong told a news conference in London.
Another lawyer, Bruce Drummond, said more than 400 claims had been made by women from around the world, mostly from Britain but also from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa and other countries.
“This is, in our opinion, abuse on an industrial scale,” Drummond said, adding that the abuse occurred “within the walls of Harrods”, but also at other locations linked to Al Fayed’s business empire, such as Fulham Football Club. , the Ritz Paris and his estate in Surrey.
The victims also included the daughter of the former US ambassador to Britain and the daughter of a famous football player, Drummond said, without naming any names.
Al Fayed always denied similar allegations made by other reports before his death.
Asked for a response, Harrods pointed to its previous statements to Reuters on the allegations, in which it has apologised, said it was “appalled” by them and said it had launched a process for any current or former Harrods employees. Those who want to claim compensation. ,
Harrods was purchased by the State of Qatar in 2010. The department store’s new owners previously said they were “completely astonished” by the allegations and were investigating whether any current employees were involved.
Harrods previously told the BBC it was in the process of settling more than 250 claims for compensation brought by Al Fayed’s victims. The store – which has a compensation scheme for victims of alleged abuse separate from the legal case – said it had already settled a number of claims.
On Thursday, the Justice for Harrods survivors group said it had sent its first letter of claim to the department store.
The group said the majority of the 421 claims against Al Fayed were linked to incidents at Harrods.
Lawyers said they expect to send hundreds more claims to Harrods over the next few weeks as the allegations “snowball and snowball”.
He told the BBC that in addition to the claims against Harrods, lawyers are also working on a claim against the Al Fayed Estate.
Armstrong said the group has reached an agreement with a major law firm that will handle the claims.
“The law firm has areas of expertise in this area and no one should have any concerns about our ability to fight this issue to the end, backed by over £1 billion,” Armstrong said.
Harrods experienced tumultuous leadership changes during Al Fayed’s 25-year reign at the department store.
James McArthur, who served as CEO of Harrods for only 10 months in 2008, Said Al Fayed’s behavior was “disgusting” and that their professional relationships were “dysfunctional”, although he denied knowledge of any sexual abuse.
