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A number of Members of Parliament have expressed serious concerns regarding how police have handled both current and past investigations into abuse allegations involving Mohamed Al Fayed. They are seeking a meeting with the Metropolitan Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to address questions raised by survivors about whether individuals who may have facilitated the alleged abuse were adequately investigated.
The Metropolitan Police are actively examining the abuse claims, while the IOPC is reviewing how the police managed the original sexual offense allegations. The accusations, which first became widely known following a BBC documentary in 2024, involve hundreds of women accusing Al Fayed, the former owner of the Harrods department store, of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Before Al Fayed’s death in 2023, 21 women had come forward to the Met with complaints of sexual offenses, but no prosecutions were brought against him.
Recently, it was disclosed that one current serving Met officer and four former officers are under investigation for possible misconduct relating to how sexual abuse allegations against Al Fayed were handled. MPs representing the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods have contacted the Met’s directorate of professional standards and the IOPC, stressing the need to restore survivor confidence by thoroughly investigating past failures by the police, including why historic claims made before Al Fayed’s death were not fully pursued.
The APPG emphasized the long wait survivors have endured, with many fearing that those who enabled the abuse may never face justice. They stated: “Survivors of Mohamed Fayed have waited years, and in many cases decades, for the police to investigate allegations against him. Understandably, many fear that his enablers will never be brought to justice. They deserve to have confidence in the Metropolitan Police investigation – and be assured that any past failings by the force will be thoroughly investigated.” At the same time, a representative from the No One Above survivors’ group criticized the police’s current inquiry as overly narrow and unlikely to deliver full accountability. Jen Mills and Lindsay Mason, co-chairs of the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group, noted the survivors’ difficult position, saying: “After being failed by people in positions of power, we are now being asked to trust the very institutions – including the police – that have failed us in the past.”
In March, the Met disclosed that three individuals—a man and two women—had been interviewed under caution for offenses such as human trafficking for sexual exploitation and facilitating rape. So far, 155 people have come forward with allegations including sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. Commander Angela Craggs of the Metropolitan Police affirmed their ongoing commitment to justice, saying: “While Al Fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution, we have always been determined to bring anyone who is suspected to have played a part in his offending to justice.” The investigation into Al Fayed’s case includes reviewing previous police inquiries, examining potential facilitators or enablers of the abuse, and probing whether any police misconduct or corruption occurred. The IOPC has been approached for comment on the matter
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