CPS Twice Did Not Prosecute Al Fayed After Police Reports

An undated file photo of Mohamed Al Fayed. PA

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) twice decided not to prosecute Mohamed Al Fayed after reviewing the evidence presented by the police on the former Harrods owner.

Details of the allegations were passed to the CPS in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to go ahead with the prosecution because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction” against the late Egyptian billionaire.

Five women have now come forward through the BBC with claims they were raped by Al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, with a number of others alleging sexual misconduct.

Their legal team announced in a press conference last week that they are taking civil action against Harrods for allegedly failing to protect their employees and “enabling” the alleged assaults by “covering up” for their former owner.

File ‘Didn’t Cross PM’s Desk’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was head of the CPS as director of public prosecutions (DPP) from 2008 to 2013, when the first police file was presented. A Downing Street spokesman said Starmer did not handle Al Fayed’s case, adding it “did not cross his desk.”

The 2008 allegation investigated by the police was made by a 15-year-old girl, according to media reports at the time.

Sir Max Hill, KC, director of public prosecutions from 2018 to 2023, said there was not “sufficient evidence” to prosecute Al Fayed either in 2009 and 2015, adding the case did not come to his attention during his tenure as head of the CPS.

A statement from the CPS said: “We reviewed files of evidence presented by the police in 2009 and 2015.

“To bring a prosecution the CPS must be confident there is a realistic prospect of conviction—in each instance our prosecutors looked carefully at the evidence and concluded this wasn’t the case.”

In 2018, 2021 and 2023, the CPS provided early investigative advice to the Metropolitan Police following allegations made against Al Fayed, whose main business interests were centred in the UK since the mid-1960s and who owned Harrods for a quarter of a century from 1985-2010.

The CPS said that in each of these instances, a full file was not presented to them, which must be given by the investigating police force for the Crown to have formal involvement in a case.

The Metropolitan Police said it had investigated “various allegations of sexual offences made over a number of years” about Al Fayed, but “no charges resulted from these investigations.”

It added that “if any further information comes to light it will be assessed and investigated accordingly.”

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Keir did not handle this case. It did not cross his desk.”

Starmer has previously faced criticism, including from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for the CPS decision not to prosecute prolific paedophile Jimmy Savile.

The prime minister, as DPP, apologised for the CPS failure to take action on Savile but said it was not his personal decision to drop the case against the late DJ and TV presenter.

‘Work to be Done’

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she was concerned by a culture of “powerful people who seem to get away with it” in response to the allegations about Al Fayed.

She told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I think the CPS has said that they didn’t have the evidence at the time. I’m not au fait with all of the details.

“But what really concerns me, and it seems to come up time and time again, is powerful people who seem to get away with it.”

Rayner added, “I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure that nobody is above the law and can hide in plain sight.”

Commander Kevin Southworth, who leads on public protection for the Metropolitan Police, said: “We are aware of various allegations of sexual offences made over a number of years in relation to the late Mohammed Al Fayed which were reported to the Met.

“Each one was investigated and, where appropriate, advice from the Crown Prosecution Service was sought.

“No charges resulted from these investigations.”

Undated file photo of Knightsbridge luxury department store Harrods. PA

Lawyers representing the alleged victims confirmed on Saturday that they have “had over 150 new inquiries” since the broadcasting of the documentary on Al Fayed last Thursday.

The inquiries relate to a “mix of survivors and individuals with evidence about Al Fayed,"  a statement from the team confirmed.

The allegations against Al Fayed swirled for many years during his lifetime. As far back as December 1997, the ITV current affairs programme “The Big Story” broadcast testimonies from a number of former Harrods employees who spoke of how the businessman routinely harassed women.

Harrods has been making out-of-court settlements with female former employees who allege they were victims of its former owner since 2023, with non-disclosure agreements routinely forming part of their payouts.

The high-end retailer, now owned by Qatar Holding—a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, which is the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar—said in a statement last week that the company was “appalled” by the allegations against Al Fayed.

The statement added: “We also acknowledge that during this time as a business, we failed our employees who were his victims, and for this we sincerely apologise.

“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”

The first allegations of sexual impropriety against Al Fayed appeared in the media in late 1997, shortly after the deaths of his eldest son, Dodi Fayed, and Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in Paris. The Egyptian maintained until his death last year that the couple’s deaths were the result of a conspiracy orchestrated by the British state.

PA Media contributed to this article