Latest news with #MohamedFayed
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
How sick Mohamed Fayed bought Princess Di's old school to ‘groom & rape underage girls' in Savile-style sex abuse scheme
PREDATOR Mohamed Fayed raped and sexually assaulted girls at Princess Diana's old boarding school, a new book alleges. A former teacher tells how the ex-Harrods owner bought West Heath School in Sevenoaks, Kent, then used it to groom pupils. 6 6 One-time Fulham FC proprietor Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94, is said to have raped a girl, caused the suicide of another and fathered a baby with an under-age pupil. Here, in an exclusive extract from The Monster Of Harrods, author Alison Kervin tells how depraved Fayed targeted school children as well as young women at Fulham FC. MOHAMED FAYED bought the Princess of Wales's old school in May 1998, almost a year after her death in Paris. His rationale was to protect the place where Diana had enjoyed herself (she had described it as the happiest time of her life). James (not his real name), a former teacher at the school, says: 'Fayed would come to the school sometimes and it would be the big Mohamed show, like when he came with celebrities (he brought Madonna in 2010). 'But there were other times when he'd come to just stroll in alone and start talking to the girls. 'I always thought it was creepy and odd. I know that's easy to say in hindsight, but I did. 'No one seemed to stop him because he'd saved the school from closing. He was free to wander around and do whatever he liked. 'I never thought that was right. 'I thought the head-mistress should have been walking round with him, but she might not even have realised that he was there. 'He seemed to be able to turn up unannounced. Even parents aren't allowed to walk in and walk around.' I ask James whether he suspected that Fayed was trying to recruit girls. 'There's no question that he was. I know he told girls he could get them jobs and he'd give them things from Harrods. 'He invited a couple of the girls to his house. I spoke to another teacher and we went to talk to a senior member of staff about it. They said that it was fine and we shouldn't worry, but it wasn't fine. 'I knew it wasn't. I carried on worrying about it. 'He shouldn't have been there. Benefactor or not, a man of that age should not be mixing with young girls, offering them lifts in his Rolls-Royce and chauffeur-driven limo, and buying them presents before inviting them to his house. How is any of that appropriate?' 'She was terrified' When all the damning information about Fayed's sex crimes came out after his death, James says he 'literally punched the wall in anger and frustration', adding: 'I should have done more.' James put me in touch with a woman who worked at the school, but not as a teacher. Jessica (not her real name) says she knows of a girl who was abused by Fayed while attending West Heath School. Jessica tells me: 'I couldn't get her to go to the police, and she refused to tell anyone at the school but me. 'I guess that because I wasn't part of the teaching staff, she felt safer telling me. She was nervous and crying. 'Fayed had invited her to Harrods and attacked her in the boardroom. 'He didn't manage to rape her, but he tore her clothes and he hurt her. She kicked him and he slapped her and called her an ungrateful animal. 'He said that he would pull the money out of the school and close it down if she said anything. 'He told her that her parents would be told about how she had behaved and all the school would know that she was the one who had closed the school down. She was terrified — she felt like she was to blame, and nothing I said would calm her down.' 6 6 Jessica says that she has been made aware of other girls who were attacked by Fayed and at least one who was raped. She reported her findings to her lawyers and plans to contact the Harrods Survivors support group on their behalf. 'When I spoke to lawyers, they put me on to some lawyers working with a lot of the victims, and they were already aware of the claims. They said they had been contacted by girls at the school and by the relatives of one girl who had committed suicide. 'The family are convinced it was because of what she went through with Fayed. I know they are also investigating that he fathered a love child with an under-age girl. I don't know any more details. 'I don't work at the school any more, and I'm glad Fayed is dead.' In a statement, West Heath School said: 'We do not tolerate abuse or harassment in any form.' On May 29, 1997, Fayed stood in the middle of the pitch at his newly purchased trophy, Fulham Football Club, wrapped in the team's scarf, and announced: 'I have a football club.' Amanda (not her real name) was on the fringes of the Fulham women's team and keen to become the best player she could be. 'Women's football was growing,' she says, 'and Fayed had become a bit of a hero by setting up the first professional women's side.' Fayed invited [a schoolgirl ] to Harrods and attacked her. He didn't manage to rape her, but he tore her clothes and he hurt her. He said he'd pull money out of the school if she said anything Amanda was still at school while training at Craven Cottage. She says she told her mum that Fayed would be visiting the training ground and her mum said: 'Be nice to him — make sure you stand out from the crowd.' When Fayed walked in, Amanda says that the place went quiet and everyone stopped what they were doing. She was nervous but remembered her mum's words, so she bounded up to him, put out her hand to shake his hand, and said, 'Hello, I'm Amanda and I'm hoping to get into the first team soon.' Little did she know that this was manna from heaven for Fayed — a pretty young woman who wanted something that he could get for her. 'Ran for the door' 'He came over to me later and invited me to come to his apartment to discuss my role at Fulham and whether he could help me to make it into the first team. 'I was so excited. He told me that someone from the club would drive me in, and he'd make sure I got home safely. 'When I got to his apartment he didn't even mention football. All he wanted to know was whether I had a boyfriend, had I lost my virginity, had I ever kissed a man? 'He was sitting right next to me and had his hand on my thigh, stroking my leg as we talked. 'He said I had good legs and they'd be perfect for football. He asked me to show them to him.' He [Fayed] asked me to bend over, and he told me to take my knickers off. I realised that was all wrong and ran for the door Amanda was wearing her tracksuit and had no desire to remove the trousers. She remembers she felt awkward and confused. 'I can get you a place in the team,' Fayed told her. 'I own the club, I can do whatever I like. 'I need to see your legs to see whether they're strong enough.' Amanda took down her tracksuit trousers and says that Fayed then became like an animal, reaching out to try to touch her. 'He asked me to bend over, and he told me to take my knickers off. I realised that was all wrong and ran for the door, but my tracksuit bottoms were round my ankles and I was struggling to pull them up while running. 'I got to the door and it was locked. I banged and banged on it with all my might. I'd just about got my trousers pulled up when I heard a voice on the other side, so I screamed and kicked at the door. 'I was sure Fayed was going to come running after me but he stayed in his seat, laughing at me. The door opened and I ran out. 'I didn't stay in football long after that . . . it didn't hold anything like the same joy for me. 'I stopped going to training and slowly drifted away from the club.' 6 Amanda says of reporting the incident to the police: 'I tried, but they weren't really interested, so I left the police station.' Three of the Fulham players I have interviewed also went to the police to report Fayed, but nothing ever happened. One other story that arose after I talked to players at Fulham concerns Kevin Keegan, the former Liverpool, Hamburg and England star, who was brought in to coach the Fulham men's team. Keegan left Fulham when he became England manager in 1999, citing the difficulties of coaching club and country at the same time. Fayed said he would let Keegan go because he was a patriot. 'I've given you my Keegan,' he quipped at the time, 'Now can I have my British passport?' But there are stories that the situation was much more complicated than that. Apparently Fayed and Keegan fell out because the fax machine that Fayed had given to Keegan for home use when he started at the club had stopped working. Rather than call the club, Keegan went to a local repair centre, where a bugging device was found in the machine. Once Keegan realised that Fayed possessed the ability to listen in on everything he and others said within the safety of his home, he decided to quit. Keegan could not be reached for comment. The Monster Of Harrods: Al-Fayed And The Secret, Shameful History Of A British Institution, by Alison Kervin (Harper Collins), is on sale on Thursday. 6
The Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Sick Mohamed Fayed raped me before Harrods bosses forced me into abortion & then fired me, says victim in bombshell book
HARRODS fiend Mohamed Fayed raped an employee who was then pressured to have an abortion by store bosses, an explosive new book claims. Speaking for the first time, the woman using alias Belinda says a Fayed doctor helped arrange the termination of her baby after insisting: ' Harrods will pay for it.' 7 When Belinda said she wanted to meet a friend to talk matters through, it is alleged the store's head of security strong-armed her into aborting and keeping it secret. The former perfume counter worker, who was left suicidal by her ordeal, reveals in new book The Monster Of Harrods: 'I had the abortion, they gave me an envelope with £1,000 in it — and told me that I no longer had a job.' She adds: 'I went home and I've never been back to Harrods since. 'Losing a baby like that was hard — no woman wants to have her rapist's baby — but I never had children. I was scarred by what I went through and sometimes think about how different my life might have been if I'd never gone to work at Harrods.' On Wednesday a group handed a letter to Downing Street calling for witnesses to be compelled to answer questions under oath about who covered up Fayed's offending. More than 500 women have come forward to say they were raped or sexually abused by Harrods and Fulham FC owner Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94. If true, it would make him a predator on the scale of BBC beast Jimmy Savile, whose reign of terror emerged after his death in 2011. Belinda's ordeal began almost 30 years ago when she got a job at the store in Knightsbridge, London. She was soon noticed by Fayed and offered a promotion from the sales floor to the buying team, which was her dream A few days later, he invited her to his private apartment. Police launch probe into individuals who enabled Mohamed Al Fayed's campaign of sexual abuse In the book, by Alison Kervin, Belinda says: 'When I look back now, I wish I'd spoken to someone . . . anyone. But I didn't. I went up to his apartment and I was raped by him.' When she later realised she was pregnant she met Harrods doctor Wendy Snell — now dead — who told her that 'I should keep quiet about it and she'd arrange for me to have an abortion '. She was told she would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) but insisted she first wanted to discuss matters with a pal, the next day. But before she met the friend, in a South London cafe, she realised she was being followed by two men — one of whom she recognised as Harrods security chief John Macnamara. Belinda says Macnamara — now also dead — 'turned nasty' and made her sign the NDA, saying 'he knew where my parents lived'. In Fayed's lifetime, 21 women made allegations against him. Four were reports of rape, 16 of sexual assault and one of trafficking. The Met Police twice sent files for a charging decision to the CPS relating to three victims in 2008 and one other in 2015. On a further three occasions, in 2018, 2021 and 2023, the CPS was asked for what is called early investigative advice from cops. But no charges were ever brought. Last year, though, the Met said it was investigating at least five people it believes may have assisted or enabled Fayed's alleged offences. 7 7 The Met is being investigated by the police watchdog amid claims it failed to pursue him properly. In The Monster of Harrods, author Alison shares Belinda's experiences which would scar her for life. Belinda says: 'I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that Fayed ruined everything for me, for ever, the day he raped me.' She was working on the perfume sales floor when she found herself at the centre of Fayed's fantasies. Belinda says in the book: 'The chairman's personal assistant called and asked me to come to his office. 'He seemed genuinely impressed and said he could get me a job in the buying department, which was something I desperately wanted.' A few days later, Belinda was moved to the department. Then she was invited to Fayed's private apartment, and thought he might explain what her new role involved. 'SOILED GOODS' Little did she know what horror awaited her behind closed doors. She says that after the rape, she fled the apartment, past security guards, and ran home. Next morning she called in sick — and when she went in the morning after that, her desk had disappeared and she had been moved back to the sales floor. She says: 'I was soiled goods. I was made to feel disgusting, and I'd done nothing wrong other than be attacked by this man.' Two months went by, with Belinda hiding whenever Fayed went past. She says: 'I was worried if he saw me there he might sack me.' One day Belinda realised it had been ages since her period. She says: 'I went to the chemist's and bought a pregnancy testing kit. 'It was positive. I hadn't slept with anyone for months. I knew it must be my rapist's child. 'I felt scared, alone and terrified. I kept thinking that maybe the test was wrong. Then I made the most stupid mistake of my life. I went to see Dr Wendy Snell. "I told her I might be pregnant and she gave me a test to do. When it came back positive, I burst into tears and explained what had happened. 'She told me I should keep quiet and she'd arrange for me to have an abortion. Harrods would pay for it and no one would find out. She told me to come back next day and it would be arranged. "All I had to do was sign an NDA and the rest would be taken care of. 'At no time did she say, 'Do you want this baby?' That wasn't on the cards because it wouldn't have suited the chairman, and his views were all that mattered. 'I didn't go back the next day. I felt too nervous and confused. Instead, I phoned in sick and made a plan to meet a friend in a cafe to see what she thought I should do. 'I left home at 11am and realised straightaway I was being followed. 'As I got to the cafe in Putney, two men approached me. I recognised one from the store. I now know he was John Macnamara.' She was told she would be given money for an abortion and needed to sign an NDA. But Belinda said she wanted to talk to someone first. She says: 'They turned nasty and said there was no time to mess around and I had to sign it straightaway. 'One — I think it was Macnamara — said he knew where my parents lived and would cause trouble if I breathed a word. "I was basically made to sign the NDA, then they said I was to leave for work as usual the next morning, and they would accompany me to have an abortion. My parents are both alive and neither knows.' 7 7 Belinda says she had the abortion, was given £1,000 and told she was no longer a Harrods employee. She adds: 'The fact the doctor was in on it and was acting against my best interests was just awful. 'That vile organisation headed by a monster, it makes me want to scream and lash out. I wish he was still alive. I wish we could all go and kill him. 'How does one man get away with decades of abusing women and never get caught?' Monster made PA bray like a donkey By Oliver Harvey, Chief Features Writer TWO more women tell book The Monster of Harrods how Fayed abused staff and loved to exert his power. Philippa, not her real name, was 18 when she went to work for him as a PA. On her second day she was told to sit next to Fayed with six experienced PAs lined up in front of them. She recalls: 'It was clear he was unhappy, and this was his way of getting petty revenge.' She says Fayed pointed to the PA at the end and said: 'Your shoes are too high — on the floor, crawl like a donkey.' Philippa remembers seeing the woman had flat shoes on. But that was irrelevant. Fayed wanted to abuse someone, so he'd make up any old reason to do so. Philippa said: 'Fayed shouted: 'Louder, more like a donkey, bray like a donkey.' 'The woman was crying. It was horrible and humiliating. Some of the other women started crying too. That made him laugh even more. 'Then he urged the woman to kick the other women, adding: 'Kick harder. Come on, donkey.' He threw loads of £20 notes and told her to pick them up in her mouth. 'Fayed laughed like he'd never seen anything so funny. 'It was awful. He turned to me and said, 'Which one next?' I didn't say anything, and he told me that if I didn't choose, I'd be sacked. 'There must have been a knock at the door or a phone rang because he was distracted and dismissed us all.' Another woman, 'Ellen', says she was walking through Harrods with Fayed when he saw a man on crutches. 'Find out who that is,' he said. Ellen approached the man. 'He explained he'd broken two toes playing football in the Harrods team. 'I told him he'd done well to come in the next day and asked him whether his foot hurt. "He said it was very painful but he didn't want to leave the department short-staffed. I thought that was incredible of him. 'I told Fayed. I thought he'd be thrilled by the loyalty. 'But he said: 'I don't like cripples - get rid of him.' I said: 'What? Sack him?' 'Fayed said: 'Yes, no cripples and no fatties. He can leave straightaway.'' THE Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the Secret, Shameful History of a British Institution, by Alison Kervin, is on sale on June 5.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
How was Al Fayed able to get away with sick abuse for so long? Those who covered up for monster must be punished
FACT or fiction, it used to be the first thing you ever heard about Harrods: it's the luxury shop where you can get ANYTHING. Turns out that also included being raped, forced into abortion, subjected to medical examinations, bullied, humiliated and ordered to crawl around the floor on all fours and bray like a donkey. 5 As we reveal today, Mohamed Fayed, the gruesome goblin who presided over this vulgar hypermarket for the super-rich, terrorised his staff for decades. Brave victims tell of how he used his power as self-appointed Shopkeeper-in-Chief to defile everyone from the girls on the perfume counter to one of his own PAs. Like Belinda, who bravely reveals today how she was forced to abort a baby fathered by Fayed after he raped her. And the poor assistant forced into that humiliating donkey routine for wearing the wrong shoes, then laughed at by a maniacal Fayed, drunk on his own sadism. No woman, it appears, was immune to Fayed's predatory perversions and warped views, with which he polluted both his Harrod's store and his Ritz hotel in Paris. And tomorrow, in the second part of our serialisation of Alison Kervin's bombshell book, we will hear more of his criminal acts and how young victims who did not even work for him got caught up in his web of depravity. The more the world learns about this evil Egyptian, who raped, abused and degraded hundreds of women, the more pressing the question: how the hell did he get away with it? How was this larger-than-life character, so desperate to be British (his bid to be a citizen was denied twice after he failed the 'good character' test), able to carry out his despicable deeds? Fayed and his reign of terror is a facsimile of that other monster hiding in plain sight, Jimmy Savile. He too lived his entire life without facing justice — or even any police charges — for his appalling actions. Both men were known to be predatory but were protected by a conspiracy of silence and cover-ups that sought to save the abuser at all cost. Indeed, Fayed's crimes were enabled by many, possibly hundreds. His reputation was airbrushed at every opportunity — not least by his old spokesman Michael Cole, who rushed to the airwaves to praise his former boss after his death aged 94 in 2023. 'Fayed did more good in the world than all his critics rolled together,' he declared. Some good! Cole insists he never saw or knew of any crimes committed by his wonderful, benevolent boss. But whatever he thought, there are many others — possibly hundreds — who could not make the same assertion. 5 All the lawyers, managers, security staff, doctors, spin doctors on the phoney pharaoh's payroll. Who forced the women to sign the NDAs? Who sat by when Fayed bullied and humiliated staff yet said nothing? And what of the CPS, which TWICE decided not to prosecute him despite evidence from police including that he raped a 15-year-old in the Harrods boardroom. Numerous lawyers have now filed civil claims against Harrods. No heads have rolled The Justice For Harrods Survivors group is working with at least 260 women. Harrods, now owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, has revealed it is in the process of settling more than 250 claims with payouts up to £385,000 if stringent — some say too stringent — tests are satisfied (such as agreeing to be seen by a consultant psychologist). So cash and apologies are on the table. Good. But still no heads have rolled. Few other perpetrators have been singled out, despite Harrods conducting an undertaking review into who enabled Fayed. That investigation rumbles on in private with no end in sight — and no guarantee that any of the survivors will actually get to see the outcome. The secrecy has only exacerbated their pain and frustration. 5 Meanwhile the Met Police are still investigating at least five people who may have assisted Fayed's offences. Ex-Harrods shelf stacker Shanta Sundarason, who was attacked by Fayed in his office, this week wrote on behalf of the victims to Sir Keir Starmer demanding a public inquiry. 'We need people called up under oath . . . so we can understand how people were allowed to facilitate, to enable,' she said. 'We need to ensure this never happens again.' Starmer should grant one, just as Harrods must reveal the findings of its own investigation. Because until the enablers are uncovered there will remain one thing you absolutely cannot get from Harrods: justice. SIMON'S JET TO JOLLIES TUNED in to Simon Reeve's latest BBC2 travelogue on Scandinavia and thought I'd accidentally stumbled upon a party political broadcast from the Green Party. Globe-trotting Simon filled a good chunk of his licence fee-funded show blasting Norway for daring to use its fossil fuel resources to create one of the world's happiest countries. Norway does drill a huge amount of oil and gas, it's true, but exports the vast majority of it to places like, er, Britain. It is then used for powering things such as jet engines, which propel people like eco-warrior Simon Reeve around the globe. So far he has been to more than 130 different countries and I think it's fair to assume he didn't walk to many of them. Wizard Arabella already battling trolls 5 I SEE the low IQ mob were out in force this week having a pop at the new girl who will play Hermione in the Harry Potter reboot. Poor old Arabella Stanton faced an onslaught in the usual social media swamps for having the temerity to not be porcelain white like the 'original' star Emma Watson. I actually have no idea what this evidently talented youngster's ethnic mix is because frankly it's irrelevant. Harry Potter is a fantasy world where the colour of anyone's skin matters not one bit. And to those who think it does, I urge them to get hold of a dictionary and look up the word 'racist'. UNITED IN GRIEF AS a proper Man United fan – ie one who lives in North London – it's been a tough week. I had managed to avoid any Spurs fans and their street parade near my home until Friday. Having popped into a pub for a last one of the night, I bumped into a supporter of the Premier League's 17th-placed club, freshly returned from Bilbao. A lack of sobriety meant I squawked out my club affiliation, expecting a barrage of banter at my expense. But it never came. Instead my new pal simply shrugged and said: 'Sorry, mate, but we needed it more than you.' He was, of course, correct. And suddenly my exasperation evaporated – replaced by a warm feeling that humility can exist among supporters of the beautiful game. QUITE A HAUL, HOYLE 5 THE increasingly grand Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is evidently getting used to the high life on his five-star taxpayer-funded jaunts around the world. He's now spent a further £55,000 of our cash doing up the four bathrooms and kitchen in his grace and favour flat in MARBLE. No doubt the pompous MP for Chorley is looking to ensure his bathing quarters are of a high enough standard to house all the fancy toiletries he's been pocketing as part of the 300 gifts he has bagged over the past four years. With all these state-funded furnishings and freebies, I'm starting to wonder if this servant of the people needs the £170,000 we pay him every year.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Yahoo
Mohamed Fayed's only surviving brother accused of sexual assaults
Mohamed Fayed's only surviving brother has been accused of sexually assaulting three former Harrods employees. The women claim Ali Fayed assaulted them in the 1990s when he and his brothers, Mohamed and Salah, owned and ran the department store. All three have spoken for the first time and said the alleged incidents by Ali Fayed took place in London, Scotland, Switzerland and the United States. The latest allegations come after the Met announced it would be investigating its handling of accusations against Mohamed Fayed under the direction of a watchdog. The Metropolitan Police revealed 111 women have now come forward to make allegations against the former Harrods boss, who died in August 2023. A spokesman for Ali Fayed, 82, who is the only surviving brother and lives in America, said he 'unequivocally denies any and all the allegations of wrongdoing'. Speaking to the BBC, one of the women, Frances, claimed Mohamed Al Fayed began to bully and sexually abuse her after taking an interior design job at the store in 1989. She said she then crossed paths with Ali Fayed after she was tasked with renovating his farmhouse on Mohamed's Scottish estate – where she says he 'groped' and 'molested' her. In 1992, the abuse escalated after she was taken to Ali Fayed's house in Connecticut to help with its interior design. Frances claimed he was waiting in her room as she got undressed in the bathroom and that he then tried to assault her. 'I was just numb and I knew what his intention was – it was really scary,' she said. She added that the alleged attack only stopped when one of Ali's children called out to him, leaving her lying there 'frozen'. 'To this day I suffer with terrible anxiety and panic attacks and I don't like people in my space,' she said. Another woman, Amy, worked as a personal assistant to Mohamed Fayed, who she claims sexually abused her for almost three years while she was working at Harrods. She said she 'endured' the abuse, which she claims also came from Ali Fayed, because she thought 'that was just what being a young woman meant, it was a hazard of the workplace'. A third woman, referred to as Laura, claimed the owner called her to his office 'with a smirk on his face' before telling her his brother Ali wanted to see her, making her feel like she had been 'selected'. She said she was 'numbed with fear' after two serious sexual assaults and commonplace sexual harassment. All three women – who said they did not feel able to speak out at the time – are pursuing civil legal action against Harrods through Justice for Harrods Survivors. In a statement to the BBC, the store, which came under new ownership in 2010, said the new claims showed the 'breadth of abuse' by Mohamed Al Fayed and 'raise serious allegations' against his brother Ali. 'We could not possibly speak on behalf of any individual who can, and should, respond to these allegations directly,' it added. Ali Fayed's spokesman said he denies all the allegations of wrongdoing, 'will not allow false accusations to go unchallenged' and that he is 'not a perpetrator'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
