Latest news with #Walker-Duncalf
The Guardian
03-04-2025
- The Guardian
Delivered to a Predator: Al Fayed's Fixer review – this startling tale urgently needed telling
It is disturbingly easy to respond with little more than fatigue to reports of powerful men sexually exploiting women, because there have been so many. The part of us that should emit shock, disgust and righteous outrage becomes dulled through overuse. And so, when Mohamed Al Fayed, the billionaire former owner of Harrods, died in 2023 and was then credibly accused of being one of Britain's worst sex offenders, the collective reaction felt like a shrug. The new Dispatches investigation, Delivered to a Predator: Al Fayed's Fixer, however, ought to sharpen our revulsion and our resolve to fight for change. Building on the 2017 Dispatches documentary Behind Closed Doors and the 2024 BBC programme Predator at Harrods, it outlines the scale of the tycoon's wrongdoing: last year, the Metropolitan police said it believed Al Fayed may have raped or abused at least 111 women and girls, but here a lawyer working for survivors estimates the number to be more like 300. Dispatches has spoken to 16 victims and witnesses, mainly former Harrods staff, many of whom give their testimony in public for the first time. The rawness of the survivors' interviews, blameless individuals trembling as they describe a trauma that has redefined their whole lives, is a reminder that one case would be one too many – but their stories match. They allege that Harrods' working culture was one where young, usually blond employees were regularly manoeuvred into situations where they found themselves alone with the organisation's chair, and either felt obliged to allow him to molest them, or were raped. A picture emerges of a workplace where the boss's interest in young women was an open secret. Everyone could see women who fitted the same aesthetic profile being fast-tracked to particular roles, or sent on errands that involved visiting Al Fayed's offices on Park Lane, but nobody quite knew what was happening next and, if they did have suspicions, they felt powerless to speak out. It is a profoundly upsetting story of money buying impunity, but Dispatches makes a further claim about the logistics that is even more startling. It involves a name unknown the day before broadcast, but will be familiar to millions by the time you read this: Kelly Walker-Duncalf. Walker-Duncalf, it is alleged, was the woman who made it possible for Al Fayed to prey on women. She joined Harrods in 1997 at the age of 19 and, a few years later, was running a department called 'store approvals', which meant she vetted new staff. Every contributor here describes her as an untouchable Al Fayed acolyte who had influence far exceeding her job description: Walker-Duncalf was 'the second-most important person in Harrods', according to one interviewee. 'She had a degree of power that nobody else in the store had.' The women who say they were abused by Al Fayed allege that they were brought to his attention by Walker-Duncalf: she either directly recruited them or identified them as employees who should be given an audience with the owner. One former Harrods worker says she had Polaroids of female employees pinned up on a board. But the contention that Walker-Duncalf abetted Al Fayed goes beyond the practicalities. The alleged victims say the presence of a woman, during the initial phase when being showered with gifts or given an inexplicable promotion, caused them to feel bewildered, or made them more likely to ignore the voice in their head that was telling them to run. It is further alleged that Walker-Duncalf would scout for young women not just on the Harrods shop floor but outside the organisation, and even beyond Al Fayed's ownership of Harrods; and that on occasion she would literally deliver his victims to him. One interviewee, Francesca, says she met Walker-Duncalf through a mutual friend in London in 2013, three years after Al Fayed sold Harrods. She says Walker-Duncalf told her that Al Fayed was looking for a new PA, then took her to meet him, an encounter that began with Francesca apparently being given the job – the deal sealed with an envelope full of cash – and ended with her being raped. Reporting for Dispatches, Cathy Newman tracks Walker-Duncalf down to Jersey and reaches her by phone, apparently coming close to scoring an interview. Their meeting never happens, with Walker-Duncalf instead issuing a statement via her lawyer, denying that she enabled or facilitated any of Al Fayed's crimes. It is not suggested that Walker-Duncalf was aware of his abuse. The inevitable new police investigation will have to provide a final answer to that; for now, this programme has made an invaluable contribution to the story of Mohamed Al Fayed, a horrifying tale that urgently needs to be told in full. Delivered to a Predator: Al Fayed's Fixer is on Channel 4 now
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Harrods executive ‘was Mohamed Fayed's female fixer'
A female former Harrods executive has been named as an alleged enabler to Mohamed Fayed. Kelly Walker-Duncalf, who worked for the Egyptian billionaire in the late 1990s and 2000s, allegedly helped identify and supply young women for him to attack. The 48-year-old, who now lives in Jersey, is also accused of helping to cover up the systematic abuse and of even threatening the victims to ensure their silence. Ms Walker-Duncalf, who now runs a recruitment firm, was named by a number of women who spoke to Channel 4's Dispatches programme. The Telegraph can also reveal that she was arrested alongside Fayed in 2015, after a young woman came forward to allege she had been groomed by her and then raped by the Harrods owner two years earlier. The Crown Prosecution Service considered bringing charges against the pair but concluded there was not a realistic prospect of conviction at the time. However, following fresh revelations against Fayed after his death, Scotland Yard has confirmed it is now investigating the role of at least five potential enablers who helped facilitate the abuse. One woman who claimed she had been 'procured' by Ms Kelly-Duncalf in the mid-2000s told The Telegraph how the glamorous blonde executive would visit pubs in Surrey looking for 'pretty young girls' and luring them with the promise of a job at Harrods. She would allegedly befriend the women by boasting of her wealth before asking if they would like to meet her 'boss', the billionaire Egyptian businessman. She would then arrange a date to meet the girls and, after picking them up in a white Range Rover, would drop them off at Fayed's Park Lane penthouse apartment. At least four women in Surrey were approached in this way around 2011, The Telegraph understands. Ms Walker-Duncalf joined Harrods in 1997 working on the shop floor but she rose up the ranks to become head of store approvals in 2004. She remained at Harrods in that position until 2013, three years after Fayed sold the store and left. Victims who spoke to the Channel 4 documentary claimed she would scour the store for young girls but would also search in London bars, even approaching some women on the street. One woman who spoke to Dispatches, Francesca, described how she had been introduced to Ms Walker-Duncalf at a restaurant in London when she was 20 in 2013, after Fayed had left Harrods. She said Ms Walker-Duncalf took her to meet the billionaire at his Park Lane residence, promising that he could help with her career. Francesca alleged she was raped by Fayed while Ms Walker-Duncalf waited in a sitting room downstairs. She also claimed Ms Walker-Duncalf then put her in a cab home and suggested they have brunch the next day. Another woman, Rebecca, described how she was introduced to Fayed by the blonde executive two weeks after starting work at Harrods, on the pretext that she had won a gift voucher for good work. She claimed he forcibly kissed her before giving her £800 and sending her on an errand to his apartment where he then raped her. Rebecca claimed when she told Ms Walker-Duncalf what had happened she reacted with threats. She told Channel 4: 'She responded almost with anger and told me that 'What am I going to do about it? He's one of the you know richest men in the United Kingdom. No one will believe you'. You know, at one point she mentioned that. 'Remember that we know where you live.'' She added: 'I've had 19 years to think about it. She knew exactly what she was doing. From the second I met her to when I told her, she facilitated the entire process.' Another woman, called Claire, explained that she had been recruited by Ms Walker-Duncalf at the age of 19 and was taken on a trip with Fayed on his yacht to Saint-Tropez where he attempted to rape her. She said when she returned to London and described what had happened, Ms Walker-Duncalf allegedly told her she should have 'closed her eyes, thought of someone else and gone through with it'. Eleanor Higgs, who was a menswear buyer at Harrods and is a former friend of Ms Walker-Duncalf described how she had an 'untouchable' position within Harrods and would hand business cards out to teenage girls in bars and restaurants. Dean Armstrong KC who is acting on behalf of a large number of Fayed's victims said: 'In respect of our survivors, when they talk of the role of an enabler, the name that comes up as someone who was facilitating the introductions, putting them into a position where abuse could take place, was Kelly Walker-Duncalf, her name came up, at least 50 per cent of the time.' More than 100 women have now come forward to police claiming to have been raped or sexually assaulted by Fayed, with offences dating back to the 1970s. While he died in August 2023, detectives have confirmed they are currently investigating at least five people on suspicion of assisting his offending. A lawyer for Ms Walker-Duncalf told Dispatches that she did not, at any stage, 'facilitate' or 'enable' any of Mohamed Fayed's crimes. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We continue to support all victims and we urge anyone with information, whether they were directly affected by Mohamed Fayed's actions or aware of others who may have been involved, or committed offences, to come forward.' Delivered to a Predator: Al Fayed's Fixer: Dispatches is available to watch and stream on Channel 4 at 10pm on April 3 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Telegraph
Harrods executive ‘was Mohamed Fayed's female fixer'
A female former Harrods executive has been named as an alleged enabler to Mohamed Fayed. Kelly Walker-Duncalf, who worked for the Egyptian billionaire in the late 1990s and 2000s, allegedly helped identify and supply young women for him to attack. The 48-year-old, who now lives in Jersey, is also accused of helping to cover up the systematic abuse and of even threatening the victims to ensure their silence. Ms Walker-Duncalf, who now runs a recruitment firm, was named by a number of women who spoke to Channel 4's Dispatches programme. The Telegraph can also reveal that she was arrested alongside Fayed in 2015, after a young woman came forward to allege she had been groomed by her and then raped by the Harrods owner two years earlier. The Crown Prosecution Service considered bringing charges against the pair but concluded there was not a realistic prospect of conviction at the time. However, following fresh revelations against Fayed after his death, Scotland Yard has confirmed it is now investigating the role of at least five potential enablers who helped facilitate the abuse. One woman who claimed she had been 'procured' by Ms Kelly-Duncalf in the mid-2000s told The Telegraph how the glamorous blonde executive would visit pubs in Surrey looking for 'pretty young girls' and luring them with the promise of a job at Harrods. She would allegedly befriend the women by boasting of her wealth before asking if they would like to meet her 'boss', the billionaire Egyptian businessman. She would then arrange a date to meet the girls and, after picking them up in a white Range Rover, would drop them off at Fayed's Park Lane penthouse apartment. At least four women in Surrey were approached in this way around 2011, The Telegraph understands. Ms Walker-Duncalf joined Harrods in 1997 working on the shop floor but she rose up the ranks to become head of store approvals in 2004. She remained at Harrods in that position until 2013, three years after Fayed sold the store and left. Victims who spoke to the Channel 4 documentary claimed she would scour the store for young girls but would also search in London bars, even approaching some women on the street. One woman who spoke to Dispatches, Francesca, described how she had been introduced to Ms Walker-Duncalf at a restaurant in London when she was 20 in 2013, after Fayed had left Harrods. She said Ms Walker-Duncalf took her to meet the billionaire at his Park Lane residence, promising that he could help with her career. Francesca alleged she was raped by Fayed while Ms Walker-Duncalf waited in a sitting room downstairs. She also claimed Ms Walker-Duncalf then put her in a cab home and suggested they have brunch the next day. Another woman, Rebecca, described how she was introduced to Fayed by the blonde executive two weeks after starting work at Harrods, on the pretext that she had won a gift voucher for good work. She claimed he forcibly kissed her before giving her £800 and sending her on an errand to his apartment where he then raped her. Rebecca claimed when she told Ms Walker-Duncalf what had happened she reacted with threats. She told Channel 4: 'She responded almost with anger and told me that 'What am I going to do about it? He's one of the you know richest men in the United Kingdom. No one will believe you'. You know, at one point she mentioned that. 'Remember that we know where you live.'' She added: 'I've had 19 years to think about it. She knew exactly what she was doing. From the second I met her to when I told her, she facilitated the entire process.' 'Thought of someone else' Another woman, called Claire, explained that she had been recruited by Ms Walker-Duncalf at the age of 19 and was taken on a trip with Fayed on his yacht to Saint-Tropez where he attempted to rape her. She said when she returned to London and described what had happened, Ms Walker-Duncalf allegedly told her she should have 'closed her eyes, thought of someone else and gone through with it'. Eleanor Higgs, who was a menswear buyer at Harrods and is a former friend of Ms Walker-Duncalf described how she had an 'untouchable' position within Harrods and would hand business cards out to teenage girls in bars and restaurants. Dean Armstrong KC who is acting on behalf of a large number of Fayed's victims said: 'In respect of our survivors, when they talk of the role of an enabler, the name that comes up as someone who was facilitating the introductions, putting them into a position where abuse could take place, was Kelly Walker-Duncalf, her name came up, at least 50 per cent of the time.' More than 100 women have now come forward to police claiming to have been raped or sexually assaulted by Fayed, with offences dating back to the 1970s. While Fayed died in August 2023, detectives have confirmed they are currently investigating at least five people on suspicion of assisting his offending. A lawyer for Ms Walker-Duncalf told Dispatches that she did not, at any stage, 'facilitate' or 'enable' any of Fayed's crimes. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We continue to support all victims and we urge anyone with information, whether they were directly affected by Mohamed Fayed's actions or aware of others who may have been involved, or committed offences, to come forward.'
