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Omar Fayed, the youngest son of the disgraced Harrods businessman Mohamed al-Fayed, has compared his father’s treatment of women to humanity’s treatment of the planet.
Fayed, who died in August 2023, has been accused of sexual assault by more than 100 women, each allegation currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
Omar, a lifelong environmentalist, has now spoken for the first time about the allegations levied at his father, saying: “I see some correlation between the conduct of my father and the conduct of business and industry at a planetary level. The abuse of the feminine is very close in principle – this is slightly philosophical – with the abuse of Mother Earth.”
In conversation with The Sunday Times, Omar said that he did not witness any impropriety committed by his father, but that he believed many of the women who had come forward with allegations, calling them “devastating”.
“In some way, I’m deeply relieved that certain things have come to light,” he explained. “It’s obviously heartbreaking to have known some of the individuals personally and also to have had inklings and clues at the time while I was working in particular at Harrods, both just personally knowing my dad.”
“I obviously didn’t witness any assaults taking place or any real horrors, but having heard the stories and putting two and two together, some of them do stack up. It’s very sad that my father was not able to answer for any of the allegations made against him. I think that would have only been fair. But there are a lot of people that have provided the pathway for him to evade accountability. Obviously he had the means and the ways to influence and affect legal processes and persons tremendously.”
An investigation by the BBC in September 2024 alleged that Fayed was a prolific sexual predator, with one female contributor to the programme alleging that she was raped by Fayed while in employment at Harrods. She called him “a monster … with no moral compass whatsoever,” and that Fayed saw his female employees as “playthings”.
The broadcaster also alleged that Harrods failed to intervene in Fayed’s behaviour and even helped to cover up the abuse accusations. The department store’s current owners sincerely apologised, saying they are “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that Fayed’s alleged victims had been failed.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by al-Fayed between 1985 and 2010,” a spokesperson for the business said in a statement. “It is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do. This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by al-Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees. While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.”
English (US) ·