The son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the late former boss of Harrods accused of sexually assaulting scores of workers, has stated the allegations had “thrown into query the loving reminiscence I had of him”.
Lawyers say some 60 girls have come ahead to allege they had been abused by Fayed, who died final yr aged 94, following a tv documentary through which girls accused him of raping and sexually assaulting them.
“I’m horrified and deeply involved by the allegations lately delivered to gentle in opposition to my late father,” stated Omar Fayed in a press release.
“The extent and express nature of the allegations are stunning and has thrown into query the loving reminiscence I had of him,” he stated.
“How this matter may have been hid for therefore lengthy and in so some ways raises additional disturbing questions,” he added.
The avalanche of accusations in opposition to the late Egyptian billionaire observe a BBC expose final week through which girls recounted being focused by Fayed after they labored for Harrods, the luxurious division retailer in London he owned for 25 years.
His son stated that though he liked his father “very a lot” and that he was a “fantastic dad, that side of our relationship… doesn’t blind me from an goal evaluation of circumstances”.
The alleged victims deserved “full transparency and accountability,” he added in a press release to Sky News late on Friday.
“I’ll proceed to assist the ideas of reality, justice, accountability and equity, no matter the place that journey could lead. No-one is above the regulation,” he stated.
Fayed’s accusers say the assaults happened in his residences in London and his properties in Paris, together with the Ritz lodge.
Allegations embody a repeated sample of ladies who underwent a range course of for positions near Fayed.
Once chosen, they had been subjected to an “invasive” gynaecological examination, the outcomes of which had been shared with Fayed.
The girls stated that after they tried to complain about their abuse, they had been threatened by senior safety employees, demoted and subjected to false allegations till they’d “no selection” however to go away Harrods.
Fayed bought Harrods in 2010 to the funding arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for a reported £1.5 billion ($2.2 billion).
He additionally owned Fulham Football Club and the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)