Mohamed al Fayed: Ex-Harrods staff detail decades of abuse

A common theme among the stories of women who worked at Harrods is of not realising the danger they were exposed to and the scale of Fayed’s abuse.

Nicole – who was also sharing her story publicly for the first time – said: “I really did feel that people weren’t being honest and open but it was a difficult thing to broach.

“I didn’t know what was true and wasn’t true, there were lots of rumours, people talked.

“But for me, his reputation was ‘he’s a bit of a letch, he’s a bit handsy’ – there wasn’t the more serious accusations, because there’s absolutely no way I would have worked for him if that was the case.”

Nicole, who worked for Fayed between 2005 and 2007, also spoke about the fear he instilled among those who worked underneath him: “There was a palpable anxiety, you could really feel this hum in the air…

“Everyday you had this anxiety… [and think] ‘how am I going to get through this day’.

“It was a battle to come through the day smiling.”

In a statement released after the BBC aired its documentary, Harrods said it is a very different place under its current ownership.

The store has reached financial settlements with several accusers and says it is committed to agreeing new ones speedily.

Many women are choosing to pursue justice via an alternative legal process. One of the lawyers leading that effort is Dean Armstrong, who said his team has heard from up to 200 women.

He told BBC Breakfast that his legal team are working on assembling a “worldwide claim” centred on Harrods involving incidents in several countries.

Mr Armstrong said there was a “whole system to facilitate” Fayed’s abuse at the store, which gave him the power to threaten women who threatened to speak out.

“I called him a monster last week,” the lawyer added. “I stand by that remark.”

All of the women who shared their stories with the BBC had one more thing in common: they urged others out there who may have been attacked at Harrods to come forward.

Jen assured victims who have not shared their experience that they would be listened to and supported, and urged them to speak to someone.

“We can’t hold him to account because he’s dead – but we can make sure that people know the truth about this man,” she added.

“He was not a gregarious, charity-giving clown – he was a dangerous sexual predator.”