Women accuse surviving brother of Al Fayed of sexual assaults
Published 7 February 2025
Three former Harrods employees have accused Mohamed Al Fayed's only surviving brother of sexually assaulting them while they were working for the department store.
Speaking publicly for the first time, the women say Ali Fayed, 82, assaulted them in the 1990s when he and his brothers, Mohamed and Salah, owned and ran Harrods.
A spokesperson for Mr Fayed, who lives in the US, said the businessman "will not be scapegoated" and he "unequivocally denies any and all the allegations of wrongdoing" and that "the incidents simply never took place".
Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence
The alleged sexual assaults happened in London, Scotland, Switzerland and the United States. One of the women, a former interior designer for Harrods, says one assault happened on a work trip while she was staying with Ali Fayed and his family at their former home in Connecticut.
"His hands were everywhere," she says, and he stopped because "one of his little boys started calling for him".
All three women say prior to Ali Fayed's alleged assaults, they had also been sexually abused by his older brother. Police say 111 women have now made allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed, who added the Arabic "Al" prefix to his surname sometime in the 1970s.
One of the women, Amy, has told the BBC she wants "an explanation" from Ali Fayed, and an "understanding of what was going on that can help [her] step forward and begin healing".
All three say they didn't feel able to speak out at the time.
"This is my chance to finally stand up for myself. I'm not going to be that scared 24-year-old who doesn't know what to do," says Frances - who, like Amy, has waived her right to anonymity.
Frances took a job working for Harrods in the store's interior design studio in 1989.
It wasn't long before Mohamed Al Fayed began to bully and sexually abuse her, she says. Frances says she recalls him regularly trying to grab her breasts and grope her while at work, or subjecting her to "foul" verbal tirades.
Despite not having much experience, Frances says she was tasked with renovating Mohamed Al Fayed's sprawling Scottish Balnagown Estate, including a farmhouse belonging to his younger brother, Ali.
Frances describes Ali Fayed's demeanour as calmer than that of Mohamed.
"I think for a moment I thought maybe he would be kinder to me," she says. "But he wasn't."
Ali Fayed, like Mohamed, also had a private office and private apartment in 60 Park Lane in central London.
It was in Ali's office where Frances says his sexual abuse started with him "trying to kiss" her, followed by him "groping" and "molesting" her.
She says both the Fayed brothers would regularly give her gifts. "With Mohamed, it would often be wads of cash, Ali would give jewellery or clothes. It would be a see-saw between abusive behaviour then praise for my work and these lavish items."
The abuse escalated in 1992, she says, when she flew to Connecticut to discuss interior design plans with Ali Fayed's wife.
"It was this huge private house and it was decorated in an English country house style. I don't think I'd ever seen anything like it in my life," says Frances.
"I remember his wife taking me into this picture-perfect American rich town."
Frances says she was staying in a guest room at the family's house when Ali Fayed told her to get changed for dinner one evening.
"I was in the bathroom and got undressed. When I came out in my underwear, he [Ali] was just standing there in the room. I hadn't heard him come in or knock."
Frances says Ali Fayed got her on the bed and tried to get on top of her. His hands were "inside my bra, inside my pants. I knew what his intention was".
According to Frances the alleged attack stopped when one of Ali's children called out for him. Afterwards, she says she sat on the bed, "frozen".
A spokesperson for Ali Fayed said the businessman "is not a perpetrator" and will "robustly defend himself against these unsubstantiated claims".
When Frances returned to work in London, she says Mohamed Al Fayed "exploded" and started "aggressively spitting abusive words" because he apparently believed she and Ali had had sex .
She says he told her: "I'm done with you… go be with my brother."
"From that point, I'd still see Mohamed, and he'd still call me every name under the sun, but he didn't actually physically abuse me," says Frances.
"Now I was in fear of two of the owners and I knew if I spoke out it would get worse. I could be threatened, I could be fired. I just felt I had to keep on going and, at some point, this horror would pass."