Met Police now investigating FORTY new sexual allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed

The Metropolitan police said it had been contacted by dozens of people since launching a public appeal, in the wake of a BBC documentary on the former business tycoon, who died in August last year at the age of 94.

The 40 new allegations relate to 40 alleged victims and are in addition to complaints police were already aware of before the BBC’s investigation.

The force said that between 2005 and 2023, allegations were made against the late billionaire by 21 separate women.

Those offences were alleged to have taken place between 1979 and 2013. Four of the reports related to allegations of rape, 16 alleged sexual assault and one related to an allegation of trafficking.

The Crown Prosecution Service was approached by Scotland Yard on five occasions between 2005 and 2023, the force said, but no further action was taken against Al Fayed.

The force said that while it would not be possible to bring criminal proceedings against Al Fayed, it would “continue to explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences”.

Met Commander Stephen Clayman said: “Since the broadcast of the documentary and our recent appeal, detectives have received numerous pieces of information, predominantly relating to the activities of Mohamed Al Fayed but some relating to the actions of others.

“This has led to us record 40 new allegations, relating to 40 victim-survivors and covering offences including sexual assault and rape across a time period between 1979 and 2013. These are in addition to allegations we were aware of prior to the broadcast.

“I recognise the courage it will have taken for people to take that step to speak to us about their experiences and I want to reassure anyone who has yet to make contact that we have specially trained detectives who will listen to you and support you.

“All these reports will need to be formally logged and assessed to see if there are any allegations of criminality that can be pursued. This will take time, but we will ensure those who contact us are kept updated with progress.

“While the majority of information we have received relates to Al Fayed’s ownership of Harrods, we are contacting representatives of other organisations linked to Al Fayed to ensure anyone affected is identified and has the opportunity to speak with us.”

Meanwhile, the Justice for Harrods Survivors group has confirmed it has now received allegations about Al Fayed from 116 women.

The group, made up of lawyers representing alleged victims, has already launched a claim against Harrods over an alleged 'corporate failure' to provide a safe system of work.

The survivors group has confirmed that it had also received aound 200 inquiries, in addition to the 116 allegations made.

It said the majority of the claims relate to Harrods, with others linked to other corners of Al-Fayed's worldwide empire.

They include his former residences in London's Park Lane and in Oxted, the Ritz hotel in Paris and Fulham football club.