Survivors File IOPC Complaints Over Met's Handling of Al Fayed Abuse Claims

Multiple survivors of alleged abuse by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have submitted formal complaints to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over how the Metropolitan Police managed their allegations.

Survivors of alleged abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed have filed complaints with the IOPC, the UK's police conduct watchdog.
The complaints target the Metropolitan Police's handling of abuse allegations against the late Harrods owner.
Al Fayed, who died in August 2023, was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary in 2023 that first brought widespread public attention to abuse claims.
The IOPC investigation into the Met's conduct is described as ongoing as of June 28, 2026.
The Metropolitan Police has not issued a substantive public statement on the specific complaints filed.

Survivors of alleged abuse by the late Mohamed Al Fayed, the Egyptian-born businessman who owned Harrods for 25 years, have filed formal complaints against the Metropolitan Police with the Independent Office for Police Conduct, according to reporting by The Guardian on June 28, 2026.

The complaints concern how the Met handled abuse allegations against Al Fayed, who died in August 2023 at the age of 94. An IOPC investigation into the force's conduct is ongoing.

Al Fayed's alleged conduct first drew sustained public attention following a Channel 4 documentary in 2023. Subsequent civil litigation and media reporting produced accounts from dozens of women who alleged assault and harassment spanning decades of his ownership of the Knightsbridge department store.

Harrods itself acknowledged in 2023 that Al Fayed had used his position at the store to abuse women, and said it had agreed settlements with a number of claimants. The store has been under the ownership of the Qatar Investment Authority since 2010.

The IOPC declined to provide a timeline for the conclusion of its investigation. The Met has not addressed the specific IOPC complaints in any statement of record.

Al Fayed also owned the Ritz Paris and, for a period, the Fulham Football Club — neither of which has been named in any related proceeding.