Mohamed Al Fayed may have raped and abused more than 111 women, say police
GuardianNOV 2024
UK: Police Open Investigation of Alleged Al Fayed Abuse Associates
Above: Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed points as he clashes with journalists at the High Court on Feb. 18, 2008 in London, England. Image copyright: Daniel Berehulak/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
While the police knows that their failure to prosecute Al Fayed in the past has impacted the public's trust, the force is committed to rebuilding that relationship by prosecuting all who aided and abetted his crimes, as well as taking a full accounting within the force's own ranks to see if there were lessons to be learned or any missed opportunities.
Establishment-critical narrative
A large reason that Al Fayed was able to get away with his crimes is that corrupt police officers helped scare the sex abuser's victims into dropping their cases. Now that it transpires Al Fayed was one of the UK's most notorious sex offenders with hundreds of victims, while some justice may be found for those who were abused, the police investigation remains too little, too late.