UK police watchdog reviews handling of Mohamed Al Fayed sex crime allegations

LONDON — Britain’s police watchdog said it was considering complaints from two women about how the Metropolitan Police handled sex crime allegations against the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Police are investigating multiple allegations of rape or sexual assault against the billionaire owner of the famous London department store. Al Fayed was never tried and died last year at the age of 94.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement late on Friday that it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after two women in recent weeks raised concerns about how their allegations were handled by officers when they were first reported in 2008 and 2013.

Stephen Clayman, from the force’s specialist crime team, said: “While we cannot change the past, we are committed to providing the highest standard of service and support to every individual who comes into contact with us.”

The police watchdog said it would evaluate the information provided before deciding whether further action was needed.

Allegations against Al Fayed have increased since the BBC published allegations by several former Harrods employees in September.

Police and Harrods managers faced questions about why action was not taken against Al Fayed while he was alive. He was questioned by detectives in 2008 regarding the alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old boy, and police forwarded evidence files about him to prosecutors in 2009 and 2015. He was never charged.

Clayman said police were “actively reviewing” 21 sex crime allegations against Al Fayed that were forwarded to police before his death to determine whether further investigation was possible.

The force said last month that in addition to these allegations, 40 more women had made allegations of rape or sexual assault against the businessman since September.

The Egyptian-born businessman moved to England in the 1960s and bought Harrods in the mid-1980s. In 2010, Al Fayed sold Harrods to a Qatari state-owned company through the Qatar Investment Authority.

Harrods’ current chief executive, Michael Ward, has apologized to former employees who say they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed. Ward said it was clear that Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct.”