by Sir Keir Starmer has come under fire for failing to prosecute Mohamed Fayed for sexual assault when he was chief prosecutor.
In 2008, Fayed, then owner of Harrods, was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police under caution after a 15-year-old girl told detectives he had sexually assaulted her at the London department store.
In February 2009, when Sir Keir was director of public prosecutions (DPP), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that no charges would be brought because “there was no realistic prospect of a conviction”.
Downing Street claims that Sir Keir, who stepped down from his role at the PSC in 2013, had nothing to do with the decision. However, the Conservatives said their investigation was “yet another case of failure” by the organisation, after it also failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
Five women have now claimed Fayed raped them and another 20 said he sexually assaulted them.
Matt Vickers, the shadow crime and policing minister, said: “Keir Starmer is always keen to take credit for the work of others at the PSC, but when something went wrong under his watch it was always someone else’s fault. the fault.
“There was an opportunity to prosecute Fayed and Starmer as Director of Public Prosecutions but it was not taken. These latest publications show that this is yet another case of failure.”
Sir Keir said when he was Director of Public Prosecutions he was “personally concerned” when it came to any case that might affect the reputation of the SPC “maybe because it involves a case extremely sensitive”.
He has denied in the past that he was informed when a CPS investigator decided to drop a case against Savile when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Keir did not handle this situation. He didn’t cross his desk.”
Fayed died last year at the age of 94 without ever being prosecuted, despite the many complaints made by various women to the police.
By the time the teenager went to police in 2008 to say Fayed had groped and kissed her against her will, Fayed had a well-established reputation for sexually assaulting his staff.
In a 1998 biography by Tom Bower, former employees described being harassed by Fayed in the workplace and being approached for sex at their homes in London and Paris.
The teenager, now in her 30s, told the BBC that she started working at Harrods as a shop assistant in 2007 when she was 14 and saw him as a father figure at first, but he started calling her his personal cell phone and hug. she is in the shop.
She said in May 2008, she was asked to go up to the Harrods boardroom, where she says she was assaulted.
She said: “He started hugging me and getting all excited and emotional, he rubbed himself against me and grabbed my face and tried to put his tongue in my mouth.
“I mentioned I was 15 and I said ‘what are you doing?’ and he said that I was turning into a beautiful woman and my breasts bore.
“I pushed him and he saw I was freaking out and scared and he went into a rage and started screaming at me.” She reported the matter to the police the same month after telling her parents what had happened and Fayed was interviewed later that year.
The case was handled by Rene Barclay, the SPC’s director of complex casework at the time, and her role included handling what were considered “high profile” cases. In 2009 he announced that no fees would be given.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said on Thursday: “In May 2008, the police received an allegation of a sexual assault which allegedly took place in London.
“The report was thoroughly investigated, including examination of CCTV, speaking to potential witnesses and analysis of telephone data.
“The case was subsequently referred to the SPC for consideration, who decided that no further action should be taken.”
The alleged victim told the BBC that she was told that part of the reason no charges were brought was that the day of the week was incorrect in her description of when the attack took place.
The CPS said the teenager’s complaint was the only time police forwarded a file on Fayed to them.
In 2018, 2021 and 2023, after Sir Keir left the PSC, he gave “early investigative advice” to the Met following complaints about Fayed, but “a full file of evidence was not found in each of these cases”.
Another woman contacted the police in 2013 and again in 2015 but the CPS say they had nothing to do with that case.
In the BBC documentary Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods, women who worked at the department store between the 1980s and 2000s said attacks took place at the company’s offices, at Fayed’s Park Lane flat and on foreign trips.
The broadcaster says Harrods not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations against Fayed.
‘Utterly Terrible’
The current owners of Harrods said they were “absolutely horrified” by the allegations, saying the company today was “very different”.
Bruce Drummond, a barrister from a legal team representing some of the women, said: “The spider’s web of fraud and abuse in this company was unbelievable and very dark.”
The Met’s head of Public Protection, Commander Kevin Southworth, said: “We are aware of various allegations of sexual offenses made over a number of years in relation to the late Mohammed Al-Fayed, which have been reported to the Met.
“Each was investigated and, where appropriate, advice was sought from the Crown Prosecution Service. These investigations did not lead to any charges.
“As with any investigation, if any additional information comes to light it will be assessed and investigated accordingly.”
