LONDON (AP) — The managing director of Harrods said Thursday that the London department store is “deeply sorry” for failing employees who say they were sexually assaulted by late owner Mohamed Al Fayed. Michael Ward said it is clear Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct.” Five women have told the BBC they were raped by Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, and several others allege acts of assault and physical violence.
Lawyers for the alleged victims say they have been retained by 37 women and the list is growing. Ward said he was “not aware of his (Al Fayed's) criminality and abuse” during the four years he worked for the Harrod's owner, though “rumors of his behavior circulated in the public domain.” Al Fayed owned Harrods for a quarter century before selling it 2010 to a company owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority .
“We failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry,” Ward said in a statement. He said Harrods had set up a “settlement process” for Al Fayed’s victims. “This was a shameful period in the business’ history,” the statement said.
“However, the Harrods of today is unrecognizable to Harrods under his ownership.” London’s Metropolitan Police say they were made aware of allegations in the past and had questioned Al Fayed in 2008 over the alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old, but prosecutors .