Editing Mohamed Al-Fayed (section)

===Cash-for-questions===
In 1994, in what became known as the [[cash-for-questions affair]], Fayed revealed the names of MPs he had paid to ask questions in [[Houses of Parliament|Parliament]] on his behalf, but who had failed to declare their fees. It saw [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MPs [[Neil Hamilton (politician)|Neil Hamilton]] and [[Tim Smith (UK politician)|Tim Smith]] leave the government in disgrace, and a [[Committee on Standards in Public Life]] established to prevent such corruption occurring again. Fayed also revealed that cabinet minister [[Jonathan Aitken]] stayed for free at the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the same time as a group of Saudi arms dealers, leading to Aitken's unsuccessful libel case and later imprisonment for [[perjury]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/196466.stm|title=UK Politics: Talking Politics, Neil Hamilton – A chronology|work=[[BBC News]]|date=19 October 1998|access-date=13 November 2022|archive-date=3 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403043705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/196466.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> During this period, Al-Fayed's spokesman was [[Michael Cole (public relations)|Michael Cole]], a former [[BBC]] journalist.<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Boggan |date=21 February 1998 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conspiracies-abound-as-cole-quits-toughest-job-in-pr-1145917.html |title=Conspiracies abound as Cole quits 'toughest job in PR' |work=[[The Independent]] |url-access=registration |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404021109/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conspiracies-abound-as-cole-quits-toughest-job-in-pr-1145917.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hamilton lost a libel action against Al-Fayed in December 1999<ref>{{cite news |first1=Matt |last1=Wells |first2=Jamie |last2=Wilson |first3=David |last3=Pallister |date=22 December 1999 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |title=A greedy, corrupt liar |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081833/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |url-status=live }}</ref> and an appeal against the verdict in December 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/hamiltonvalfayed |title=Neil Hamilton loses libel appeal |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 December 2000 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510191751/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/hamiltonvalfayed |url-status=live }}</ref> The former MP has always denied that he was paid by Al-Fayed for asking questions in Parliament. Hamilton's libel action related to a [[Channel 4]] ''[[Dispatches (TV series)|Dispatches]]'' documentary broadcast on 16 January 1997<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp0157.htm "Appendix 33 – continued: Appendix 1 Channel 4 and Fourth Estate Press Releases"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027120524/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp0157.htm |date=27 October 2016 }}, Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report, House of Commons, January 1997</ref> in which Al-Fayed stated that the MP had received up to £110,000 in cash and other gratuities for asking parliamentary questions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/573630.stm |title=Hamilton loses libel case |work=[[BBC News]] |date=21 December 1999 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912221014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/573630.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Hamilton's basis for his appeal was that the original verdict was invalid because Al-Fayed had paid £10,000 for documents stolen from the dustbins of Hamilton's legal representatives by [[Benjamin Pell]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Moss |date=12 December 2000 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/12/hamiltonvalfayed.stevenmorris |title=Fayed 'paid for stolen papers' |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510193021/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/12/hamiltonvalfayed.stevenmorris |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2003 Fayed moved from [[Surrey]] to Switzerland, alleging a breach in an agreement with [[Inland Revenue|the British tax authority]]. In 2005, he moved back to Britain, saying that he "regards Britain as home".<ref name="BBC20080407" /> He moored a yacht called the ''[[Sokar (yacht)|Sokar]]'' in [[Monaco]] prior to selling it in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://holiday.monacoeye.com/monaco_yacht_show.php |title=Monaco Yacht Show |publisher=Holiday |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-date=3 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803045035/http://holiday.monacoeye.com/monaco_yacht_show.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>