Sixty women now represented in Al Fayed case, lawyers say

Mohamed Al Fayed owned Fulham Football Club for 16 years

Lawyers representing the accusers of former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed say they are now working with 60 women.

Justice for Harrods Survivors, which originally represented 37 women, said it had received an "enormous" response from victims and witnesses since announcing its claim against the luxury department store last week.

The legal team added that there was now "credible evidence" of abuse perpetrated at other businesses and properties once owned by Al Fayed, including Fulham Football Club.

Last week, Fulham said it was in the process of establishing whether anyone in the club had experienced abuse at the hands of the late businessman.

Al Fayed, who died last September aged 94 and owned Harrods between 1985 and 2010, has been accused of multiple rapes and sexual assaults by former staff - many of whom felt unable to report what had happened until recently.

They made the claims in the BBC podcast and documentary Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Dozens more women have been in touch since the programme aired last week.

Justice for Harrods Survivors is bringing a case against the current owners of the department store, who it argues are liable for damages.

The current owners, who did not own it at the time of the allegations, said they were "utterly appalled".

"The Harrods of today is a very different organisation," the company said last week, adding they had made it a "priority" to quickly settle claims brought to them by victims.

The department store has a compensation scheme for ex-employees who say they were attacked by Al Fayed, which is separate to the legal action being taken by some accusers.

Harrods says it has already reached financial settlements with the majority of people who have approached them since 2023, and has had new inquiries since the BBC investigation was published.

• How Fayed built a corrupt system of enablers

• 'Being assaulted by Fayed at 16 changed the course of my life'

• Timeline of sex abuse allegations

• Watch on iPlayer: Al Fayed - Predator at Harrods

• Listen to World of Secrets on Sounds

In a statement released on Friday, Justice for Harrods Survivors said: "Since announcing our proposed claim last week, 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."

The lawyers said they had "fielded well over 200 inquiries" from potential victims and witnesses from across the world.

"We can confirm that we now represent 60 survivors as part of our claim, with more to come," they said.

The statement added: "Given our prolonged experience in dealing with the women impacted by this case, we expected that anywhere Mohamed Al Fayed went, abuse would follow."

Al Fayed served as chairman of Fulham between 1997 and 2013. Last week, a former manager of the women's team told BBC Sport extra precautions were put in place to protect female players from Fayed.

Gaute Haugenes, who managed the team from 2001 to 2003, said staff were aware the late billionaire "liked young, blonde girls".

Players were not allowed to be left alone with Al Fayed as a result, Mr Haugenes said.

In an earlier statement, Fulham Football Club said: "We are deeply troubled and concerned to learn of the disturbing reports following yesterday's documentary. We have sincere empathy for the women who have shared their experiences.

"We are in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is, or has been, affected."

Meanwhile, the BBC has again attempted to speak to Michael Cole, who was Harrods' director of public affairs in the 1990s, at his home this morning.

His wife, Jane, said Mr Cole did not want to say anything, adding that they knew nothing about the allegations of sexual impropriety against Al Fayed.

She also said her husband had not worked for Al Fayed for 25 years.

Mr Cole has responded to some text messages from the BBC in recent days but has not been seen in public since Tuesday.

If you are affected by issues of sexual assault you can contact the BBC Action Line here.

A BBC investigation into allegations of rape and attempted rape by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods. Did the luxury store protect a billionaire predator?

Watch Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods on BBC iPlayer now

Listen to World of Secrets, Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods on BBC Sounds. If you’re outside the UK, you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.