Who John MacNamara? Ex-Met detective Mohamed Al Fayed's security head

He was an ex-Met detective turned head of security for one of the world's most infamous billionaires who allegedly used a gun to intimidate anyone who crossed his boss. 

John MacNamara headed the disgraced late Harrod's tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed's extensive security operation.

His boss famously owned London's high end department store Harrods from 1985 to 2010, and had still owned the Paris Ritz - which he bought in 1979 - upon his death in August 2023 aged 94.

This week shocking allegations have been made against Al Fayed after an investigation by the BBC revealed that more than 20 woman have accused him of rape and sexual assault.  

The investigation also revealed details about how MacNamara, who died September 2019 aged 83, ran Al Fayed's with an iron fist intimidating staff from speaking out about the Harrods' owners behaviour. 

In 1995 women made allegations of sexual misconduct against Al Fayed to Vanity Fair journalist Maureen Oath. 

One of Al Fayed's personal assistant 'Alice', who names was changed to protect her identity, claimed that she told Ms Oath that she would give an anonymous statement about Al Fayed's behaviour.     

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Before the article was published Alice claims MacNamara intimidated her to prevent her speaking to out again. 

She said in the documentary: 'John MacNamara contacted me before the article was published, and I had no idea how he'd found me.

'He said I should not be involved in that article but if I went against his advice, just to be aware that he knew where my parents lived. It turned me cold.

'After I spoke to Maureen, I never spoke to anybody else by fear of what it might bring.'

The article was published without any serious sexual assault allegations and Al Fayed sued the magazine for Libel. 

Around the same period, a member of Al Fayed's personal security team - who worked closely with MacNamara -  said he was a 'nasty piece of work and would threaten people and things. And used his power as an ex-copper.'

He added: 'I know for a fact MacNamara knocked on someone's door personally and threatened a girl.'

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After Princess Diana died in a car crash with Al Fayed's son Dodi Al Fayed, MacNamara started his own private investigation into the accident which ran parallel to the official inquiry.

Working with Al Fayed, the pair made a number of outlandish allegations that the Royal Family were involved in the tragedy. 

He fabricated story that Prince Philip and MI6 had somehow conspired to murder Diana and Dodi in order to prevent them marrying.

MacNamara sought to establish a reason for the crash and started claiming that Diana had been pregnant and that this had been a motive to kill her.

He hired a retired French police officer to ‘prove’ that MI6 was behind the conspiracy and that the agency had been acting on Prince Philip’s orders.

Then he came up with the story that a white Fiat Uno had deliberately crashed into the Mercedes in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. Presenting himself as a plain-speaking copper, Macnamara persuaded journalists to believe his fantasy. 

His fantasy collapsed in 2008 during an inquest into the deaths of Diana, 36, Dodi, 42, and driver Henri Paul, 41, where he admitted here was no evidence to back up his theories. 

At the inquest MacNamara clashed with the coroner after admitting he had initially lied about the amount Henri Paul had drunk that night, and whether Diana was pregnant when she died.

Lord Justice Scott Baker asked Macnamara: 'If you are telling lies on some occasions, how can they [the jury] tell if you are telling the truth on others?'

Macnamara replied: 'I have come here to tell the truth'.

He passed away in 2019 after he had been suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy.