Harrods to settle more than 250 sex abuse claims against Mohammed al-Fayed

The disclosure came as the daughter of former England footballer Paul Gascoigne said she was assaulted by the late Egyptian billionaire when she worked at the store as a teenager but was threatened about speaking out.

Fayed has been accused of raping and sexually harassing scores of women, earning comparisons with high-profile sex offenders such as the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and US financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The slew of allegations came to light in a BBC documentary aired last month.

Harrods, which is under new ownership, said in a statement: “Since 2023, Harrods settled a number of claims with women who alleged historic sexual misconduct by Fayed.

“Since the airing of the documentary, so far there are over 250+ individuals who are now in the Harrods process to settle claims directly with the business.”