More than 400 sex abuse victims join list of accusers against ex-Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed

More than 400 alleged victims and witnesses have signed up to join the growing list of sexual assault allegations against former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, lawyers in the bomb case said on Thursday.

A September BBC documentary revealed that Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, sexually assaulted female staff at his famous London department store, forcing them to undergo medical examinations and threatening them with consequences if they tried to complain.

Since the release of the documentary, hundreds of others have accused the longtime Harrods owner of harassment, assault and rape while employed by him. according to the BBC. The allegations cover a period of more than thirty years.

“The enormity of the abuse perpetrated by Al Fayed and facilitated by those around him unfortunately continues to grow,” attorney Dean Armstrong told a news conference in London.

Another lawyer, Bruce Drummond, said the more than 400 claims were filed by women from around the world, mainly from Britain, but also from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa and other countries.

“That, in our view, is abuse on an industrial scale,” Drummond said, adding that abuse took place “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.

Victims include the daughter of a former US ambassador to Britain and the daughter of a famous football player, Drummond said, without naming names.

Al Fayed has always denied similar allegations from other reports before his death.

When asked for a response, Harrods pointed Reuters to its previous statements about the allegations, in which it apologized, said it was “appalled” by them and that it had launched a lawsuit for current or former Harrods employees who want to demand compensation. .

Harrods was bought by the state of Qatar in 2010. The department store’s new owners previously said they were “utterly shocked” by the allegations and were investigating whether any current staff were involved.

Harrods previously told the BBC it was in the process of settling more than 250 compensation claims filed by victims of Al Fayed. The store – which has a compensation scheme for victims of alleged abuse, separate from the lawsuit – says it has 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.

Most of the 421 claims against Al Fayed related to incidents at Harrods, the group said.

The lawyers said they expect to send hundreds more claims to Harrods in the coming weeks as the allegations “snowball and snowball.”

In addition to the claims against Harrods, lawyers are also working on a claim against Al Fayed’s estate, they told the BBC.

Armstrong said the group has reached a deal with a major law firm that will handle the claims.

“The law firm has expertise in this area and, lest anyone be concerned about our ability to fight this case to the end, backing in excess of £1 billion,” Armstrong said.

Harrods experienced a tumultuous leadership transition during Al Fayed’s 25-year reign over the department store.

James McArthur, who was CEO of Harrods for just ten months in 2008, said Al Fayed’s behavior was “abhorrent”. and his professional relationships were “dysfunctional,” although he denied knowledge of any sexual abuse.