Barristers have revealed they now represent 60 people in potential civil claims against Harrods over allegations involving former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
In its latest announcement, the legal team said it was ‘in possession of credible evidence of abuse at other Al Fayed properties and businesses, including Fulham Football Club’. Barristers Dean Armstrong KC, Bruce Drummond and Maria Mulla and US attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference earlier in September where it was announced that civil claims would be issued, but confirmed none had been yet.
In a joint statement, they said since the press conference, in which it was confirmed that the team would not be pursuing a class action but focusing on individual claims on behalf of each client, they now represent 60 people ‘with more to come’.
They said: ‘Since announcing our proposed claim, we have been responding to inquiries from more survivors of abuse, whether from their time at Harrods or in other corners of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s empire. We have also heard from others who are witnesses to that abuse.’
The statement added: ‘We can confirm that we now represent 60 survivors as part of our claim, with more to come. To reiterate, our claim is becoming increasingly global in scope. We thank each of these brave women for placing their trust in us as we now move forward together.
‘We are now in possession of credible evidence of abuse at other Al-Fayed properties and businesses, including Fulham Football Club.’
During the earlier press conference, Armstrong said the civil claims will initially focus on Harrods and its ‘systematic failure of corporate responsibility’.
The potential civil claims follow a BBC documentary Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods in which Al Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94, was accused of multiple rapes and sexual assaults by former staff. The legal team, which stated it had ‘fielded well over 200 inquires…from all over the world’ has confirmed the civil claims are against Harrods over the ‘systematic failure of corporate responsibility’.
The Met Police said it had identified 19 allegations which resulted in crimes being recorded involving Al Fayed and relating to 19 women, reported between 2005 and 2023, with offences alleged to have taken place between 1979 and 2013. In all 19 allegations reported to police, no further action was taken. The police confirmed it had received new allegations from people who had not previously contacted the Met about Al Fayed.
