Metropolitan Police have interviewed three women, aged between their 40s and 60s, under caution concerning allegations of facilitating sexual abuse linked to the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The interviews, conducted between February 25 and March 5, focus on suspicions including aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault, assisting the commission of sexual offences, and human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
A total of 154 victims have now come forward, reporting allegations of sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking as part of this investigation. Detectives have indicated that several more individuals are considered suspects and are expected to be questioned in the coming months. No arrests have been made at this juncture, and the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The police force is re-examining its past handling of complaints, having faced claims they failed to act while Al Fayed was alive. Before his death, 21 allegations had been made to the police, none of which resulted in criminal charges. This current inquiry aims to pursue those who may have enabled or facilitated the alleged offending, widening its scope to encompass human trafficking allegations for sexual exploitation.
Expanded Scope and Survivor Accounts
The investigation has been broadened to explicitly include allegations of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, a move welcomed by representatives for some survivors. Legal partners for a number of accusers noted their surprise that all current suspects identified are female, given the accounts and publicly available details they have considered.
Background to the Inquiry
Allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed first surfaced in the late 1980s. The Metropolitan Police stated that victims remain central to their ongoing efforts, with accounts from accusers and witnesses gathered over the past 18 months. The complexity and far-reaching nature of the inquiry are acknowledged by the force, which plans further updates as circumstances permit, without jeopardising criminal proceedings.
' Mohamed Al Fayed ', ' Metropolitan Police ', ' sexual abuse ', ' human trafficking '