Harrods “failed” its workers by not dealing with the “toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct” under Mohamed Al Fayed, the current managing director of the business has said. Michael Ward, who worked for four years under Al Fayed, said he was “not aware” of the Egyptian businessman’s “criminality and abuse” and said he would have acted if he had known. Ward, 68, was appointed by Al Fayed at the luxury Knightsbridge store and has faced calls from lawyers representing alleged victims to say what he knew.
Last week, Al Fayed, who died last year, was accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women over a period of at least 20 years. In a written statement, Ward said: “As managing director of Harrods, I wanted to convey my personal horror at the revelations that have emerged over the past week . We have all seen the survivors bravely speak about the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of Harrods’ former owner Mohamed Fayed.
As we have already stated, we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry..
