Met Police first told of Fayed sexual abuse allegations ‘a decade earlier than previously acknowledged’
Samantha Jay-Ramsay told the News of the World in 1998 that police had said she was ‘not the first’ with claims over Fayed
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A woman first reported allegations she was sexually assaulted by Mohamed al-Fayed to the Metropolitan Police a decade earlier than the force initially acknowledged, her family has revealed.
As Harrods’ new owners process more than 250 claims of sexual misconduct by the department store’s late boss, Samantha Jay-Ramsay’s family have told the BBC that she first reported him to Scotland Yard in 1995, after he allegedly harassed and sexually assaulted her while working at Harrods aged 17.
The Met has previously said the first allegations they were made aware of were in 2005, and said that Samantha’s case may not have been transferred onto a police record because some reports were paper-based at the time.
Samantha died in a car crash in 2007 at the age of 28, and her sister Emma Willis believes that Fayed’s alleged assault perhaps fatally changed the course of her life, adding: “It really infuriates me that if the police had dealt with it properly back then her life would have been different.”
Ms Willis and her mother Wendy Ramsay have now contacted solicitors firm Leigh Day to look at legal options, with the pair alleging that the Met refused to help Samantha.
As scores of allegations against Fayed have emerged in recent weeks, following a BBC documentary reporting allegations by more than 20 women, including five who said they were raped, the Met revealed it had received 21 allegations, including of rape and sexual assault, between 2005 asked 2023.
But the force passed a full file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service only twice, in 2009 and 2015, and it was decided not to go ahead with charges in either case because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction”.
In an account chiming with those that have emerged this year, Samantha told the News Of The World newspaper in 1998 that Mr Al Fayed said she would need to have a medical and told her: “I like you to be clean. I hope you use Dettol, it’s the best”.
She then alleged he gripped her face, kissed her and touched her inappropriately before handing her £200. Samantha said one of Mr Al Fayed’s personal assistants berated her for making a complaint, before the ex-Harrods owner allegedly shouted at her and fired her.
She told the now-defunct paper that she had reported Fayed to the Met, who told her she was “not the first” and they had “files inches high” about Fayed. Her mother then went to police in Gosport, Hampshire, who passed the complaint on to the Met but the family said nothing came of it.
Samantha later told the News of the World: “I have been left violated by this man … Someone has to speak out.”
Backing calls for a public inquiry into the alleged abuse by Fayed, Ms Willis said: “It really infuriates me that if the police had dealt with it properly back then her life would have been different.
“Back then she was one of the only people to have been brave enough to go to the police and if they had dealt with it properly how many women could have been saved from his abuse?”
She added: “We know 100 per cent my sister would’ve been speaking out if she was here. No one believed her or did anything about it and that’s enough to make anyone go crazy.
“She reported what happened to her 30 years ago and he was allowed to continue for another 20 years. That must have played on her mind. I do hold Al Fayed responsible. I really believe if it hadn’t happened to her then her life would have been different.
“This happened just as she was turning into an adult, this isn’t what she should have been dealing with going into adulthood. She did all the right things to try and blow the whistle and had the bravery and courage to try to hold Al Fayed accountable but no one was interested, no one would help her.
“I don’t think Sam would have had the skills to process what happened her at that age.”
Ms Willis told the BBC: “It really changed her outlook on life, and we had 12 years of erratic behaviour after that, a suicide attempt, and never really finding her place.”
Met Commander Stephen Clayman said Scotland Yard’s review of allegations relating to Fayed remains ongoing, adding: “The way the Met works has moved on immeasurably in the last 30 years, and our teams have transformed the way we investigate rape and sexual offences. We’re working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure that victims are at the heart of our response, with a greater focus on suspects and their offending.
“While we cannot change what has happened, we do acknowledge that trust and confidence is affected by our approach in the past and we are determined to do better. We have made significant changes and progress to deliver better outcomes for victims.
“We continue to ask anyone who has been a victim of Mohamed al-Fayed to speak to our specially trained detectives who can formally record your allegations and provide you with information about support services available to you.”
Fayed acquired Harrods for £615m in 1985 and, after 26 years in charge, sold it to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5bn in 2010. He died in 2023, aged 94.
Additional reporting by PA