Mohamed Al Fayed 'sex assault' claims at Highland estate probed by Scots cops

Officers confirmed a probe was launched into the report of a sexual assault, which is alleged to have taken place at Balnagown Estate near Invergordon.

Police have investigated claims that Mohamed Al Fayed sexually assaulted a woman at his estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Officers from Police Scotland confirmed a probe was launched after the crime allegedly took place at Balnagown Estate near Invergordon. Police inquiries into the alleged incident have since concluded.

Al Fayed owned the property for more than 50 years after purchasing the estate in 1972. It comes as fresh sex assault claims have been put forward against the former Harrods tycoon, who died on August 30, 2023.

A total of 37 former female employees of the luxury retail store have come forward with allegations of assault and physical violence at properties in London, Paris, St Tropez and Abu Dhabi. Five women alleged they had been raped by Al Fayed, who died at the age of 94.

A legal team involved in the investigation into Al Fayed held a press conference in London today. It heard how his alleged serial sexual abuse "combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein".

Barrister Dean Armstrong KC said he is currently representing the women who worked for the former Harrods owner and more were coming forward in the wake of a BBC documentary aired on Thursday.

He said: "I have many years of practice... I have never seen a case as horrific as this. This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

"Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour. Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls - as you know there are some very young victims. And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power. We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster."

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He added: "We are here to say publicly and to the world, or to Harrods in front of the world, that it is time that they took responsibility, and it is time that they set matters right, and that is something they should do as soon as possible. They need to face up to accept the responsibility, that they have full culpability for the abuse that these women suffered. Today, we are going to set out our claim and how our claim shows an abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system of work."

Al Fayed was first accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s, but the allegations did not lead to criminal charges. At least 100 women are feared to have been sexually abused by him over decades in what was described as one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that "perhaps the world has ever seen".

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Following an investigation into a report of a non-recent sexual assault that took place in Scotland, enquiries are now complete. However, should new information be obtained or reported to police, then further enquiries will be carried out.”

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