Lawyers representing the London department store have told claimants they could be offered a sum between £110,000 and £200,000
Six-figure payouts are being proposed by leading store Harrods to settle claims brought by sexual abuse victims of its former owner, Mohamed al Fayed.
Lawyers representing the London department store have told claimants they could be offered a sum between £110,000 and £200,000.
Those alleging sexual abuse by al Fayed could be owed “general damages limited to compensation for sexual assault of up to £110,000”, with “aggravated damages [of] up to £15,000”, and “wrongful testing fixed payment(s) up to £7,500”. Claimants who agree to an assessment by a psychiatrist could be given up to £200,000.
A legal document from MPL Legal, seen by Sky News, says mention of “wrongful testing” is in reference to allegations of forced medical examinations demanded by al Fayed. The decision to impose a further psychiatric assessment in order to access the largest sums available under the scheme may anger claimants who have already endured years of psychological trauma after being abused by al Fayed.
Those who opt to pursue the “medical pathway” would face a protracted wait to receive their payouts. The MLP document said it would take up to six months to produce a medical report, after which a claimant would have 21 days to submit questions relating to it.
An offer of compensation would then be made within 35 days, it said, after which a claimant could accept the offer, appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel or leave the scheme and pursue an alternative form of redress.
The proposed terms are understood to be preliminary and subject to ongoing consultation, and will not be concluded until the end of this month, according to sources close to the process.
If the scheme is finalised along lines similar to those being consulted on, it would likely result in a total compensation bill for Harrods running to tens of millions of pounds.
A Harrods spokesperson said: “It would be premature for us to comment on the nature and details of a scheme that is currently under consultation. We are actively inviting the valuable input from Survivors and their legal representatives to establish the final scheme that aims to be survivor-first, trauma-informed, and fair in its approach to compensation. Further updates will be provided once the consultation period is complete.”
The Metropolitan Police asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge Al Fayed, who was also the owner of Fulham FC, in relation to two out of 21 women who made allegations, including of rape and sexual assault, between 2005 and 2023.
Evidence was shown to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to go ahead with either case because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction”.
Al Fayed, who died in 2023, bought Harrods for £615 million in 1985. In 2010, after 26 years in charge, he sold the department store to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5 billion.
During his time at the Knightsbridge store he is thought to have abused hundreds of predominantly young female victims. He also owned Fulham football club, where a number of former women’s players also alleging sexual abuse by the Egyptian billionaire.
Sky News report the MPL Legal document says the redress scheme would “provide options for survivors – an alternative route to the court process”, and that it would “hopefully avoid an adversarial approach which also risks retraumatising survivors”.
It added that the scheme would be “as inclusive as possible – we want the scheme to work for as many survivors as we can”. It added that the scheme would be “as inclusive as possible – we want the
Last October, lawyers acting for victims of al Fayed said they had received more than 420 enquiries about potential claims, although it is unclear how many more have come forward in the six months since.
