Met Police knew of Al Fayed assault claim a decade earlier than claimed: Report

As per a BBC report, the Metropolitan Police was informed of sexual assault allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed a full decade before it was previously acknowledged.

In 1995, Samantha Ramsay, then 17, alleged Al Fayed groped her at Harrods, where she worked. Until recently, the Met claimed the first report about Al Fayed was in 2005.

Samantha’s family believes her report was disregarded by the police. They feel that prompt action from the Met could have protected other women from harm.

The Met stated that they have no record of Samantha’s report in their current systems, acknowledging that some reports in 1995 were on paper and may not have been transferred digitally.

Samantha’s mother, Wendy, and sister, Emma, have spoken publicly for the first time, sharing that police told Samantha in 1995 that Al Fayed had faced multiple complaints from other women.

This information has prompted questions about whether the Met has fully disclosed the reports it received and whether it properly investigated these allegations.

In 1995, Samantha moved to London to work in Harrods, hoping to build her career there. However, her family believes the events that followed altered her life permanently.

“If it hadn’t happened, I do think she’d probably still be here. I really do,” her sister Emma told the BBC.

After Samantha began working in the Harrods toy department, Al Fayed noticed her and invited her to his office multiple times. He gave her £50 notes and offered her better job positions. But on their second meeting, he asked her to undergo a medical examination and encouraged her to cleanse herself with Dettol. Al Fayed then allegedly assaulted her.

“I was terrified,” Samantha’s words reveal. “And then I rushed out of his office. I ran to the toilets and burst into tears.”

The next day, Samantha reported the incident at Marylebone police station in central London.

Emma and Wendy recall that Samantha told them thepolice had taken her details but warned her that action was unlikely, saying it was her word against Al Fayed’s and he was too influential.

After hearing nothing further, the family consulted a police officer they knew in Hampshire, who advised them to report the incident locally in Gosport. Wendy remembers that the police visited her home to take a statement.

“It was supposedly sent to the Met Police,” she says, but the family has not received any follow-up from the force.

Met Commander Clayman commented, “Our review of allegations relating to Mohamed Al Fayed remains ongoing. The way the Met operates has evolved significantly in the last 30 years, and we’ve transformed our approach to investigating rape and sexual offences. We’re working with partners across the criminal justice system to keep victims at the centre of our response, with an increased focus on suspects and their actions.”

The Met has referred only two cases, out of 21 reports of alleged rape and sexual assault involving Al Fayed from 2005 to 2023, to prosecutors to determine if charges should be brought against the former Harrods and Fulham Football Club owner.

Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed, an Egyptian businessman, made the United Kingdom his home and the centre of his business ventures from the mid-1960s onward. He owned several prominent enterprises, including the Hôtel Ritz in Paris, the famous Harrods department store, and Fulham Football Club.

(With inputs from agencies)