Al Fayed abuse ‘could be on scale of Savile’ – survivor advocate

The scale of Mohamed Al Fayed’s sexual abuse could be similar to that of Jimmy Savile’s, Harrods’ newly appointed survivors’ advocate has told the BBC.

There has been a torrent of allegations against the late billionaire businessman since a BBC documentary in September broadcast the claims of 20 women.

Speaking about her appointment earlier this month, Dame Jasvinder Sanghera said she had been contacted by a former pupil from a school for deaf children.

Al Fayed “had access to vulnerable young women from that school”, she said, adding that testimony she had heard suggested that Al Fayed’s “tentacles went far and wide”.

The school told the BBC that as far as it was aware Al Fayed did not have access to the school, and that it takes safeguarding very seriously.

“We could be talking about something on the scale of Jimmy Savile,” Dame Jasvinder told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.

“What we do know is that there are many people – and survivors have said this to me already – that were complicit [in Al Fayed’s abuse].

“They looked the other way. This could not have happened without people knowing about it, and he used his position of power and influence.”

Savile was one of Britain’s most notorious and prolific sex offenders. He was a TV presenter and DJ who, until his death in 2011, used his prominent status to rape and sexually assault hundreds of people.

In 2012, the Metropolitan Police said they believed there were 450 victims of Savile’s abuse. He often used philanthropic work as a cover for his crimes.

Dame Jasvinder added that there are currently about 290 women engaged in Harrods’ compensation process for former employees who say they had been abused by Al Fayed, and that she had written a personal letter to each of them.

Separately, more than 70 women have contacted the BBC since the documentary was broadcast, with accounts of abuse by Al Fayed, including sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape.

But Dame Jasvinder believes there are others who have not yet come forward.

She added that she is keen to speak to all victims of Al Fayed’s abuse, even if they didn’t work at Harrods.

Al Fayed is alleged to have also abused women at other businesses he owned, including the Ritz Paris hotel and Fulham FC.

She said: “If you look at the breadth of the abuse, this didn’t just happen in Harrods. I’m already hearing from survivors who are saying this happened in other areas.”

The Harrods compensation scheme is only open to people who worked for the company.

But Dame Jasvinder said she “would never turn anybody away that was in need of support – even if they need to access me to talk that through, for me to be able to identify the appropriate level of support or process for them.

“I would absolutely encourage anyone affected by this, or who may know somebody that’s affected, who just wants to have a conversation about the process, to absolutely contact me.”

Dame Jasvinder is a prominent human rights campaigner and the founder of the charity Karma Nirvana, which helps victims of honour-based abuse.

She has previously spoken about her parents attempting to force her to marry when she was a teenager, her escape, and being disowned as a result.

Dame Jasvinder was also a survivor advocate on the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board until the panel was sacked in June 2023, when the Church said relations between board members and bishops had “broken down”.

Harrods launched an internal review last year to see whether anyone involved in any allegations is still working there. As yet they have declined to say whether any action has been taken against any individual, or when the review might be completed.

Hundreds of women are also working with separate legal firms in claims against the retailer.

At a press conference last month, Justice for Harrods Survivors, which represents some of the accusers, said more than 400 alleged victims and witnesses had been in contact with them.

Most of the 421 prospective claims were connected to Harrods, but others related to incidents at other businesses owned by Al Fayed, the group said.

The survivors included people from the UK, US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia, the lawyers added.

Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, which aired in September, heard testimony from more than 20 female ex-employees at Harrods.

The documentary and podcast found that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene but helped cover up abuse allegations.

Responding to the investigation, Harrods’ current owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed – for which the store sincerely apologised.

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