Harrods boss Michael Ward ‘sorry’ for Al Fayed’s abuse

The boss of Harrods has apologized personally for the first time over allegations of sexual abuse against the store’s late owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.

The BBC approached Michael Ward at Harrods headquarters and he said: “I’m terribly sorry for what happened to Al Fayed.”

Hundreds of women claim the billionaire raped or sexually assaulted them. The police are investigating some claims and Harrods also settles hundreds of claims.

Mr Ward, who has been a director of Harrods since 2005, worked with Al Fayed until 2010 and previously said he was unaware of any abuse.

Harrods’ new owner, the Qatar Investment Authority, said an internal investigation was underway and declined to say whether anyone had been identified or taken action against anyone currently working there.

Al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, was accused of sexual abuse by more than twenty women in a BBC documentary and podcast in September.

Hundreds of people have contacted the BBC directly about Harrods and Mohamed Al-Fayed since the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods was broadcast.

More than 70 of these came from women who sent the BBC their stories of abuse by Al-Fayed, including sexual harassment, assault and rape.

Mr Ward said in a statement in September that he had stepped down from his role as a trustee of Royal Ballet and Opera while the review at Harrods took place.

He added in the statement that he was unaware of the abuse at Harrods and that Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussions and sexual misconduct,” calling it a “ shameful period”.

He said no formal complaints were made to him during his time at Al Fayed, although rumors about his behavior were in the “public domain”.

The BBC had asked Mr Ward for an interview to find out what was known at the time by senior Harrods staff about the allegations, but it was declined.

During the BBC’s approach to Harrods headquarters, Mr Ward said Harrods had “nothing further to add”.

The abuse is said to have taken place at Fulham FC, the Ritz Hotel Paris, Harrods and other places owned by Al Fayed.

Harrods previously told the BBC it was in the process of settling more than 250 claims for compensation filed by victims of Al Fayed. That number has now risen to more than 290. The luxury department store has a compensation scheme for ex-employees who say they were attacked by Al Fayed, which is separate from the lawsuit against it.

Fayed owned Harrods between 1985 and 2010. The store’s new owners have previously said they are “shocked” by the sexual abuse allegations and have been investigating since 2023 to determine whether any current staff members were involved.

Lawyers for some of the victims said they were working on a claim against Al Fayed’s estate, as well as Harrods, adding that they expected to send hundreds more claims to the department store and that it would have a “snowball and snowball effect”.

In 2008, Al Fayed made allegations of indecent assault against a 15-year-old girl, which appeared in the press at the time. Al Fayed denied the claims and the public prosecutor decided not to file charges due to conflicting evidence.

The BBC announced this last week The police were informed of the allegations of sexual assault by Mohamed Al Fayed ten years earlier than it has acknowledged

Human rights activist Dame Jasvinder Sanghera will meet “as many survivors as possible” and guide them through the compensation process, the retailer said.

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