Woman attacked by Mohamed Al Fayed at Scots estate convinced others were preyed on at 'castle of horrors'

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A former Harrods employee has revealed how Mohamed Al Fayed tried to rape her at his Highland estate. Sophia Stone was attacked by the tycoon on a visit to Balnagown castle in Easter Ross more than 30 years ago.

In 2021, she reported her attack to Police Scotland but the force said there was no corroboration - despite 20 other women also reporting they’d been assaulted to the Met police at the same time. Sophia and her husband Keaton told the Sunday Mail they are convinced Al Fayed attacked others at the “castle of horrors” and have urged any other women to come forward.

Describing the abuse at the castle, she said: “Mohamed Al Fayed crept into my room. I was awake already as I was far too nervous to sleep and there was no lock on the door. He got into bed with me and kissed me on the mouth and tried to put his tongue in my mouth.

“He had taken off his dressing gown. He had his pants on to start with but as he forced himself on top of me I could feel he had pulled his pants down. He was on top of me and very heavy. He was kissing me and pushing me down and trying to pull my pyjama bottoms off.”

Sophia, a receptionist from Staffordshire, had always wanted to be a fashion buyer and started work at Harrods in 1988 at the age of 19. She was soon spotted by the mogul on the shop floor and became his personal assistant, where she was regularly sexually harassed and assaulted by Al Fayed.

The 56-year-old said the attack on her at his luxury Highland retreat was in 1991 after she’d travelled there with Al Fayed and two other women who also worked for him.

She said: “We’d travelled by chauffeur-driven Mercedes to the heliport then to the airport and on the private jet to Inverness. During the flight he kept flicking pistachios at us, trying to get them down our tops which he found very funny.”

Sophia and the other women were given a tour of the grounds and then served dinner. When they went to bed Sophia could hear Al Fayed coming to her first floor bedroom. During the attack, Sophia battled with the mogul and eventually managed to kick him so hard he stopped.

She said: “I kept screaming ‘get off, get off!’ I kicked and kicked and finally pulled free. He was left lying on the bed, I think I hurt him. He was telling me to calm down and told me to stop screaming. I was crying and shaking. I was so scared and out of my depth. He got off the bed, stood up and put his dressing gown on and rearranged himself.

“He told me to calm down. I remember saying ‘I have to leave. I can’t work for you anymore. I need to go.’ I think he was scared by my reaction and just wanted me to stop making such a noise. I’m sure other people in the castle must have heard me. I went up to the door as soon as he had gone and put a chair against it and was physically sick.”

Sophia said she didn’t sleep at all that night and lay “curled in a ball in bed”. She said: “The next morning we all went down to breakfast as if nothing had happened. I didn’t, and couldn’t, talk to anyone. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

Sophia said she has never got over what happened to her at Balnagown and the experience has left her feeling anxious and scared if she visits castles or even sees them on television. She said: “The Balnagown experience has traumatised me all my life.

"I get flashbacks and recurring nightmares to this day about being there and trapped in the room with him. It destroyed my sense of trust and feeling safe. I love Scotland. It’s so beautiful but I get anxious whenever I’ve been since.

“I love The Traitors TV show but every time the castle is on the screen I shudder because it reminds me of Balnagown. I’ve never got over what happened there and I hope that anyone else who may have been assaulted at Balnagown will now feel safe to come forward.”

Sophia’s husband Keaton began investigating Al Fayed in 2018 after his then-fiancée told him what he’d done to her. He contacted the BBC last year with the overwhelming amount of evidence he had gathered including details of many other women who had been sexually assaulted by the mogul.

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Last month the broadcaster released a documentary based on Keaton’s findings and now hundreds of women have come forward to reveal they too were attacked. Keaton said: “Undoubtedly other women were assaulted at Balnagown. I really do urge those women to speak up.

“I saw an article after he died which says the owners want to keep it in Al Fayed’s memory, in honour of him. I hope that’s changed now. It’s a castle of horrors.

“Wherever Al Fayed went there were victims. Balnagown is somewhere he was very fond of going and taking different women with him. What could they do when they were up there, in the middle of nowhere? He had guards there and they didn’t know who to trust.”

Keaton said the couple contacted the Met police in 2020 to report several attacks against Sophia and were then referred to Police Scotland about the Balnagown attack. Two officers from Dundee travelled to speak with Sophia and take her statement in December 2021.

After almost 18 months they said that as there were no other complaints about attacks at Balnagown they were unable to pursue Sophia’s case. That’s despite the Metropolitan police, who were in contact with Police Scotland, being aware of 20 other complaints against Al Fayed.

Keaton said: “Police Scotland told us they couldn’t proceed with Sophia’s report as there were no other victims at Balnagown. We know now the Met had 20 other reports about Al Fayed at the same time...surely it doesn’t matter that none of the other attacks took place at Balnagown? It shows a pattern of behaviour.”

Al Fayed died in December 2023 without ever having to answer for his crimes. Bruce Drummond KC, from the Justice For Harrods Survivors group is representing hundreds of survivors of Al Fayed.

He said: “We would encourage anyone who has suffered any harm at the hands of this horrific regime or Al Fayed directly to come forward and speak with us in confidence. There is nothing to be scared about nor any reason to feel shame or guilt. We are here to help.”

Police Scotland refused to state if they ever interviewed Al Fayed about Sophia’s attack or whether they knew about the Met’s reports against him. A spokeswoman said they had received no “formal complaint” about how they investigated Sophia’s case.

Anyone affected by this scandal can visit www.harrodssurvivors.com for advice.

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