Mohamed Al-Fayed trafficking victims say Met Police failed to offer them legal protection they were owed

Four women who say they were trafficked by Mohamed Al-Fayed, the billionaire former owner of Harrods and Fulham FC, have accused the Metropolitan Police of breaking the law by failing to refer them to the UK's official scheme for identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery.

The women, all confirmed as trafficking victims following a Home Office review, say officers did not offer them referrals to the National Referral Mechanism after they came forward with allegations against Al-Fayed. Instead, they made self-initiated referrals through the anti-slavery charity NGO Unseen.

Al-Fayed died in 2023 at the age of 94. He was exposed as a serial sexual predator the following year, after a BBC documentary prompted more than 400 women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking, dating between 1977 and 2014. Female Harrods employees had made sex allegations to police in 2008, 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2023. He was never arrested.

One survivor, using the pseudonym Isabella, worked in the chairman's office at Harrods in 2001, where she says she was trafficked. She reported her experience to police in 2024 but was never referred to the NRM.

"Survivors had to force the state to recognise trafficking in a case the Met now says had trafficking always at its heart," she said. "Referring suspected victims to the NRM is a statutory duty, it's not optional. That duty is triggered the moment that trafficking is suspected, not when it's proved."

Another survivor, Margo, was a domestic worker for the Al-Fayed family after the 2010 sale of Harrods. She said the Met had been "reactive as opposed to proactive" throughout the investigation.

A third survivor, using the pseudonym Elizabeth, said there has been "some miscommunication" from the Met suggesting its referral duty does not apply to historical cases. "That's not true," she said. "It's very clear in the law."

Justine, a fourth survivor who worked at Harrods for more than three years in the 1990s, said the Met did not offer her a referral when she reported her experience in 2018. She self-referred via Unseen and received a positive conclusive grounds decision in June 2026.

The women believe the Met did not offer NRM referrals to anyone who came forward about Al-Fayed until April 2026. The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed in June that three victims had filed complaints about the Met's handling of allegations between 2018 and 2024.

Phil Brewer, former head of the Met's own anti-trafficking unit, said he had never seen any guidance or policy backing the Met's position that historical cases were exempt from referral obligations. "For me, it just seems such a simple thing to do that would give the survivors reassurance that they're being listened to and believed," he said.

The Met's investigation, known as Operation Cornpoppy, was launched in November 2024 and is looking at people who may have facilitated or enabled Al-Fayed's crimes. Seven suspects have been interviewed under caution on suspicion of offences including aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault and human trafficking for sexual exploitation. As of August 17, 157 victims have come forward.

A Met spokesman said the force will refer cases to the Home Office via the NRM where there are indications of human trafficking and where the victim consents.

At least five survivors have now received positive conclusive grounds decisions from the NRM.