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

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s police watchdog said it is assessing complaints from two women over how the Metropolitan Police handled sex crime allegations they made against the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Police have been reviewing multiple allegations of rape or sexual assault against the billionaire owner of the famed London department store. Al Fayed was never prosecuted and died last year at 94 years old.

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

“Although we cannot change the past, we are resolute in our goal to offer every individual who contacts us the highest standard of service and support,” said Stephen Clayman, from the police force’s specialist crime team.

The police watchdog said it will assess the information provided before deciding if further action is needed.

Allegations against Al Fayed have grown since the BBC broadcast claims by several former Harrods employees in September.

Police and Harrods executives have faced questions about why action wasn’t taken against Al Fayed while he was alive. He was questioned by detectives in 2008 over the alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old, and in 2009 and 2015 police passed files of evidence about him to prosecutors. He was never charged.

Clayman said police are “actively reviewing” 21 sex crime allegations against Al Fayed that were made to police prior to his death to determine whether any more investigations are possible.

The force said last month that in addition to those claims, 40 more women have made allegations of rape or sexual assault against the tycoon since September.

The Egypt-born businessman moved to Britain in the 1960s and bought Harrods in the mid-1980s. Al Fayed sold Harrods in 2010 to a company owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

The current managing director of Harrods, Michael Ward, has apologized to former employees who said they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed. Ward said it is clear Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct.”

Sylvia Hui, The Associated Press