Editing Mohamed Al-Fayed (section)

=== Early allegations ===
In "[[Holy War at Harrods]]", a 1995 profile of Al-Fayed for ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', [[Maureen Orth]] described how, according to former employees, "Fayed regularly walked the store on the lookout for young, attractive women to work in his office. Those who rebuffed him would often be subjected to crude, humiliating comments about their appearance or dress... A dozen ex-employees I spoke with said that Fayed would chase secretaries around the office and sometimes try to stuff money down women's blouses".<ref name="maureen-orth">{{Cite magazine |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1995/9/holy-war-at-harrods |title=Holy War at Harrods |first=Maureen |last=Orth |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=1 September 1995 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905203954/https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1995/9/holy-war-at-harrods |url-status=live }}</ref> Al-Fayed sued ''Vanity Fair'', resulting in a settlement with no damages paid, but requiring ''Vanity Fair'' to place all evidence in locked storage. ''Vanity Fair'' chose to settle in part out of sympathy for Princess Diana's fatal crash.<ref name="GuardianSep27">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/27/how-mohamed-al-fayed-kept-claims-of-sex-crimes-under-cover-for-decades |title=How Mohamed Al Fayed kept claims of sex crimes under cover for decade |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 September 2024}}</ref>

In December 1997, the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] current affairs programme ''The Big Story'' broadcast testimonies from former Harrods employees who spoke of how Al-Fayed routinely sexually harassed women in similar ways.<ref name="Boggan"/> Al-Fayed was interviewed under caution by the [[Metropolitan Police]] after an allegation of sexual assault against a 15-year-old schoolgirl in October 2008. The case was dropped by the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] when they found there was no realistic chance of conviction due to conflicting statements.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7894870.stm|title=No Sex Charges for Harrods Owner|work=[[BBC News]]|date=17 February 2009|access-date=13 November 2022|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130200316/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7894870.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

A December 2017 episode of Channel 4's ''[[Dispatches (TV programme)|Dispatches]]'' programme alleged that Al-Fayed sexually harassed three female Harrods employees, and attempted to "groom" them. One of the employees was aged 17 at the time. Cheska Hill-Wood waived her right to anonymity to be interviewed for the programme.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mendick|first=Robert|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/08/mohamed-al-fayed-accused-harassing-17-year-old-harrods-employee/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/08/mohamed-al-fayed-accused-harassing-17-year-old-harrods-employee/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Mohamed Al-Fayed accused of harassing 17-year-old Harrods' employee|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 December 2017|access-date=5 March 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The programme alleged Al-Fayed targeted young employees over a 13-year period.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=David|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/mohamed-al-fayed-accused-of-sexually-harassing-young-staff-688twtk2v|title=Mohamed Al Fayed accused of sexually harassing young staff|work=[[The Times]]|date=8 December 2017|access-date=5 March 2018|url-access=subscription|archive-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306023301/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mohamed-al-fayed-accused-of-sexually-harassing-young-staff-688twtk2v|url-status=live}}</ref>

Early media scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations against Al-Fayed was curtailed by his frequent threats of litigation. Al-Fayed developed a reputation for spending large sums on litigation against media outlets reporting on sexual assault allegations against him. The lack of scrutiny was also attributed to the actions of Al-Fayed's security chief, John MacNamara, who allegedly threatened and surveilled potential witnesses and victims.<ref name="GuardianSep27" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2024 |title=How Mohamed Fayed's 'cold and unscrupulous' security guard covered up his secrets |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/25/harrods-mohamed-fayed-john-macnamara-secrets/ |website=The Telegraph}}</ref>