Harrods boss apologises and says Mohamed al Fayed 'presided over toxic culture of secrecy' and 'sexual misconduct'

The managing director of Harrods has accused his former boss Mohamed al Fayed of presiding over “a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.

Five women who used to work at the luxury department store have alleged they were raped by Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, with several other former employees alleging sexual misconduct.

In a written statement, Michael Ward, who worked for the Egyptian billionaire at Harrods for four years, has denied having been previously aware of the businessman’s “criminality and abuse”.

He said Fayed’s ownership between 1985 and 2010 represents a “shameful period in the business’s history”.

Mr Ward apologised and said Harrods had “failed our colleagues”.

His statement reads: “As managing director of Harrods, I wanted to convey my personal horror at the revelations that have emerged over the past week.

“We have all seen the survivors bravely speak about the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of Harrods former owner Mohamed Fayed.

“As we have already stated, we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry.

“As someone who has worked at Harrods since 2006, and therefore worked for Fayed until the change of ownership in 2010, I feel it is important to make it clear that I was not aware of his criminality and abuse.

“While it is true that rumours of his behaviour circulated in the public domain, no charges or allegations were ever put to me by the Police, the CPS, internal channels or others. Had they been, I would of course have acted immediately.”

Mr Ward also said an independent review was under way into issues arising from the allegations and that he had “provided all the information I have to ensure my own conduct can be reviewed alongside that of my colleagues”.

“I am not part of the committee conducting this review and will in no way influence its operation or recommendations… I have also stepped back from my charity trustee positions while this review is taking place,” he said.

Mr Ward added that Fayed had ran his business as his “own personal fiefdom”.

He continued: “It is now clear that he presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct.

“The picture that is now emerging suggests that he did this wherever he operated.”

Mr Ward insisted that the Harrods of today is “unrecognisable” compared to how it was under Fayed’s leadership.

He added that the business has established a settlement process which has been “designed in consultation with independent, external experts in personal injury litigation”.

“We encourage former colleagues to contact us using this process so that we can provide the support, and recourse, they need”, Mr Ward said.

Sources within Harrods have said the business has accepted vicarious liability, a rule of law that imposes strict liability on employers for the wrongdoings of their employees, for the conduct of Fayed for the purpose of settling claims of alleged victims brought to its attention since 2023.

Some women have claimed they were subjected to “intrusive and wholly unnecessary” gynaecological tests to work for Fayed and have alleged the purpose of the tests was for checking for sexually transmitted infections.

Alleged victims are set to lodge a complaint against Dr Ann Coxon, claiming she has “questions to answer” over the examinations.

Dr Coxon declined to comment on the matter.

A General Medical Council spokeswoman said: “If we identify any potential fitness to practise concerns about individual doctors, we will thoroughly examine all relevant information and take action as appropriate.”

What has Fayed been accused of?

Dean Armstrong KC, a lawyer representing some of Fayed’s 37 alleged victims, has said the case against the businessman “combines some of the most horrific elements” of those including Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

The allegations have surfaced after an investigation by the BBC.

A former employee of Harrods has told Sky News “demonic” Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor and once they were called to his office they “couldn’t say no”.

After taking over Harrods in 1985, Fayed expanded his business interests to include the Paris Ritz and Fulham Football Club.

Lawyers say they are aware of allegations made by employees at other businesses owned by Fayed and are representing women who worked at the Paris Ritz.

There have not been any allegations against Fayed in relation to his ownership of Fulham FC between 1997 and 2013.