MPs raise concerns about police investigations into Al Fayed abuse claims

A group of MPs has raised concerns about the way current and historical investigations into allegations of abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed have been handled by police.

They are seeking a meeting with the Metropolitan Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), saying survivors had "questions" for the Met about inquiries into people who may have facilitated the alleged abuse.

The Met is investigating the allegations of abuse and the IOPC is looking into how the Met handled the original claims of sexual offending.

Hundreds of women have accused the ex-Harrods owner of rape, sexual assault and trafficking, after a BBC documentary first publicly detailed the allegations in 2024.

After that broadcast, the Met revealed it had been approached by 21 women before Al Fayed's death in 2023. They accused him of sexual offences but he was never prosecuted.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that a serving Met officer and four former officers are being investigated for potential misconduct over the handling of reports of sexual abuse made against Al Fayed.

The group of MPs has written to the Met's directorate of professional standards and the IOPC, suggesting more needed to be done to ensure victims had "confidence" that "historic failures of the Metropolitan Police" would be fully investigated. This includes why historic allegations made against Fayed before his death were not fully acted on.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods told the BBC: "Survivors of Mohamed Fayed have waited years, and in many cases decades, for the police to investigate allegations against him. Understandably, many fear that his enablers will never be brought to justice.

"They deserve to have confidence in the Metropolitan Police investigation - and be assured that any past failings by the force will be thoroughly investigated. The APPG would never threaten the integrity of the police investigation - but we want to talk to the Met and the IOPC about how they earn the trust of survivors."

• Watch BBC documentary in full - Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods

A spokesperson for the No One Above group of survivors said the Met's current investigation had no realistic prospect of delivering accountability because it was too narrowly focused.

Jen Mills and Lindsay Mason, co-chairs of the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group, said: "We survivors have been placed in a difficult position. After being failed by people in positions of power, we are now being asked to trust the very institutions - including the police - that have failed us in the past.

"And so, while we appreciate the current efforts of the police to investigate the enablers who facilitated our abuse, we do worry when we hear that the police are also investigating themselves for their historic failings."