It raises serious questions about the Met’s response to women who said they were abused by the former Harrods owner, who died aged 94 last year…reports Asian Lite News
The Metropolitan Police only asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge Mohamed Al Fayed in relation to two out of 21 women who accused him of sexual offences while he was alive.
It raises serious questions about the Met’s response to women who said they were abused by the former Harrods owner, who died aged 94 last year. It was also found that a woman was investigated for aiding and abetting rape by Al Fayed.
Scotland Yard had refused to answer the BBC’s questions about how many women it sought charging decisions on, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) provided the information.
The force says it also sought early investigative advice from the CPS in relation to allegations from 10 other women. Full files of evidence were not passed to the CPS for charging decisions.
The Met says claims from nine other women were reviewed by officers, and no further action was taken, with those police decisions taken in two cases after Al Fayed died in August last year. A documentary and podcast heard testimony from former Harrods employees who said the billionaire sexually assaulted or raped them. Al Fayed was never charged while he was alive.
Since the documentary aired, at least 65 women have contacted the BBC saying they were abused by Al Fayed, with allegations stretching beyond Harrods and as far back as 1977. The Met stated that 21 women approached the force before the BBC film. The force revealed on Saturday that 60 further women have now contacted the force to report allegations against Al Fayed since the film. The allegations received by the Met span several decades.
The force is conducting an internal review into these earlier complaints and the police watchdog has asked if anything needs to be referred to it for investigation. The CPS has now said that, in 2009, it made a charging decision on two allegations of sexual assault in relation to one female complainant.
Then, in 2015, it made a charging decision on one allegation of rape and an allegation of aiding and abetting rape by one female suspect. These allegations related to a different female complainant. It means the Met did not pass full files of evidence to prosecutors on 19 of the women who approached them, nor did the two files it did pass contain complaints from other women whose evidence could have potentially provided corroboration.
Many people will be astonished that a man could be accused of sexual offences by 21 women and not be charged. Given that 60 further women have approached the Met, there are now mounting questions about the quality of the Met’s earlier enquiries. These include why the Met did not link the different cases or launch a larger investigation that might have found other women who have now come forward.
Zoe Billingham, who was Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary between 2009 and 2021, said the revelations about the actions of police were “shocking”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “It beggars belief that 21 women came forward to the Met with presumably very similar allegations about a wealthy man in a position of extreme power and authority and yet nothing happened, again. There should have been a full investigation. And this raises questions…. Were the police building a proper file for the prosecution in the first place?”
She added: “There is a broader question here – that’s the question of culture. At that time, and perhaps even now, were woman coming forward with these types of allegations being taken seriously, were they being listened to or were they being fobbed off.”
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “We are carrying out full reviews of all existing allegations reported to us about Al Fayed to ensure there are no new lines of enquiry based on new information which has emerged.
“This includes liaising with the Directorate of Professional Standards where appropriate.”
The force said investigators are reviewing new information which has come to light, in an effort to establish if there are any allegations of criminality that can be pursued against others who may have had some involvement in any offending.
Ex-Fulham Ladies captain ‘groped’ by Al Fayed
Ronnie Gibbons, a former Fulham women’s captain, has alleged she was sexually assaulted by Mohamed Al Fayed, the club’s late owner, in 2000.
Gibbons, who was 20 at the time, said she was forcefully kissed, groped and had twice felt trapped in a room by Fayed, who owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013 and died in 2023.
On 11 October the Metropolitan police confirmed it was investigating 40 new allegations, including of rape and sexual assault, relating to Fayed stretching back to 1979, after the broadcast of a BBC documentary about the former owner of Harrods. They are in addition to allegations relating to 21 women reported to the force between 2005 and 2023.
Gibbons, a defender who was part of the Fulham squad that won a domestic treble in 2003 and also played at international level for the Republic of Ireland, told the Athletic: “Speaking my truth and finally telling my story will hopefully help me heal and be rid of the shame, embarrassment and pain I have carried for years. If this can help one person open up and realise it’s not your fault and be free of the same burdens, then I’ll be happy.”
Now 44, Gibbons is the first former Fulham footballer to publicly detail allegations about Fayed. A statement issued by the Justice for Harrods Survivors group said: “What former Fulham captain Ronnie Gibbons was forced to endure at the hands of Mohamed Al Fayed is yet another horrible example of the monstrous abuse aided and abetted by the businesses he owned.
“We salute our client’s bravery and are proud to advocate for Ronnie and others at Fulham who are searching for justice. We will do whatever we can to lift the lid on abuse, no matter where it was perpetrated, or who it was perpetrated by, including any enablers of Al Fayed’s abhorrent behaviour.”
Mohamed Al Fayed was the owner of Fulham FC between 1997 and 2013. He died at the age of 94 in 2023. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian
Describing the first of two separate incidents where she felt trapped in a room at the Harrods department store in London, Gibbons said: “He pulled me in close and tried to kiss me on the mouth. He had his arms holding my arms. It was a real kind of control stance, like ‘I’m dominating you.’
“He held my arms, pulled me in and tried to kiss me on the mouth. I sort of moved my head so he could only kiss me on the cheek. I was wearing my Fulham tracksuit and just felt sweat instantly on the back of my neck. Just so uncomfortable, instantly.”
After detailing at length the process of being summoned back to the Harrods building again, she added: “This time he groped me. He groped my breast. He sort of had his hand on my face and he moved it down and he sort of touched me on my breast and sort of moved his hand down to my waist.”
In a statement, Fulham said: “The club is profoundly troubled to learn of the experiences told today by former women’s team captain Ronnie Gibbons. She has our deepest empathy and support. We continue to stress our absolute condemnation of abuse in all forms. 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.
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