Harrods worker says Fayed complaint was 'brushed off by line manager'

Frances Mao
BBC News

Fresh allegations are being made about ex-Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed by a former worker who says her line manager "brushed it off" when she complained about inappropriate advances.

The woman, named Catherine, contacted the BBC after reports this week from other women saying they were sexually assaulted by the late billionaire.

Catherine said she was a 21-year-old Harrods employee when she was called into Fayed's office where he made "uncomfortable" advances including kissing her on the forehead, inviting her to work in his office and saying he was her boyfriend.

Harrods’ current owners said earlier this week they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and "victims were failed".

Catherine says that when she told her line manager about her incident, it was dismissed - and she regards it as one example of a wider culture at Harrods which enabled Fayed's behaviour.

"I explained to [my line manager] what happened... and he just completely kind of brushed it off and was kind of like 'oh you know, that’s just what he’s like'", she told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.

She had been "in a very junior role" in the London department store when the incident happened.

One weekend she was told to bring some store musicians up to Fayed's office and after that was asked to come back to his office.

She said: "So then I went back up and we went into a little room at the back, just him and I."

Fayed then invited her to take a job in his office, she said - an offer she turned down because it was not in her area of expertise.

"He then held my hand and asked if I had a boyfriend and I sort of politely laughed and said yes.

"And he said 'No, you don’t have a boyfriend, I’m your boyfriend you don’t need that donkey’ - which was strange and obviously I’m more and more uncomfortable by this point."

She said Fayed then kissed her on the forehead, told her to think about the job and handed her £300 in cash - which she returned shortly after along with a formal rejection of the post.

"He kissed me on the forehead. I know a lot of people have mentioned this whole thing about this fatherly approach but I have boundaries. It was horrible, and you know, holding hands, being in very close proximity, was not normal," she said.

She says she contacted the BBC this week to add to the weight of accusations against Fayed.

More than 20 women have told the BBC the businessmen sexually assaulted or raped them while they worked at Harrods luxury department store in London.

A legal team is representing at least 37 women who have engaged in separate civil legal claims.

Catherine said she felt her experience compared to those allegations "feels like absolutely nothing - but I think it's important in kind of building up that evidence of a pattern of behaviour and culture."

She condemned the workplace environment at Harrods which she said had allowed such actions to regularly happen - claims that have been rejected by the department store. Harrods was owned by Fayed from 1985 until 2010 and is now under new ownership - which said this week it was not aware of the allegations until 2023.

Catherine told the BBC: "It was kind of known that he behaved in a certain way and preyed upon young women and young women were recruited to work on the shop floor or to work in his office.

"And that seemed to go without any kind of question."

Her comments have been echoed by other accusers who have said many people in Harrods knew about Fayed's alleged behaviour.

"I think that there were people at Harrods at the time who were enablers and they are as guilty as Fayed because they were not just passive onlookers. They were actually helping girl after girl into a total nightmare," Catherine said.

She has called on "individuals" to be identified and "questioned on their collusion".

"It is essentially grooming as the evidence suggests and they should face justice," she added.

Catherine's testimony comes as more women speak out about Fayed's behaviour. New details have also emerged of failed efforts by police and prosecutors to hold Fayed to account during his life.

A legal team representing many of the women the BBC has spoken to, outlined their case against Harrods on Friday.

The store's new owners have said: "These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms."

"We also acknowledge that during this time his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise."

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