Five Met officers investigated over handling of Mohamed Al Fayed abuse allegations
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 7
Five Met officers investigated over handling of Mohamed Al Fayed abuse allegations
9 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 7
The IOPC said one serving officer and four former officers are under investigation in a case involving reports from four victim-survivors, with the probe begun in January 2025.
The watchdog has not decided whether any officer has a disciplinary case to answer, while the Met said the serving officer remains on normal duties and it is assisting the inquiry.
After a 2024 BBC documentary, the Met disclosed 21 women had accused Al Fayed before his 2023 death; he was never charged, and police say 154 alleged victims have since come forward.
Will investigators expose the entire network that enabled Mohamed Al Fayed, or just a few low-level officers?
With its compensation scheme now closed, will Harrods ever reveal who internally knew about the decades of abuse?
Uncovering the Al Fayed Abuse Network: 154 Victims, Police Failures, and Calls for Systemic Reform
Overview
The Al Fayed abuse scandal, spanning from 1977 to 2014, involved systematic sexual exploitation of female Harrods employees, enabled by a toxic corporate culture and repeated police failures to act on reports. Operation Cornpoppy, the Metropolitan Police's ongoing investigation, expanded in early 2026 to include human trafficking offences after sustained survivor pressure and expert advocacy. Despite gathering extensive evidence and interviewing suspects, survivors remain frustrated by the slow progress and demand accountability for both direct enablers and institutional misconduct. Harrods has apologized and set up a compensation scheme, but survivors criticize it for privacy and power imbalances. The scandal has sparked public outrage and calls for a statutory public inquiry and systemic reforms in police oversight, corporate responsibility, and victim-centered justice.