MONSTER OF HARRODS

Sub-titled 'Al-Fayed and the Secret, Shameful History of a British Institution'. Famous in his lifetime as the owner of Harrods and father of Princess Diana's boyfriend Dodi who died with her in the fatal car crash, since his death Mohamed al Fayed has been revealed as a serial rapist and abuser. This book opens with the horrifying testimony of two of his employees at Harrods and tells the stories of numerous other women who were his victims. Born into a poor family in Alexandria, and suffering the death of his mother at a young age, Fayed saw at first hand the wealth and luxury of British colonials and decided to emulate them. After dubious business ventures in Saudi Arabia and Haiti he went on to make a fortune in Dubai, no-one is quite sure how. He had a talent as a middleman, introducing influential people to each other, but even at this stage there was a darker side and in Dubai he made a rape attempt on Sheenagh, stalking her relentlessly when she managed to escape and establishing a pattern that was to last for decades. He was now calling himself Al Fayed and claiming to be descended from a privileged Egyptian family. At Harrods, young women were employed on the perfume counter, and then invited to Fayed's apartment where he would rape them and if necessary pay for an abortion afterwards. It was highly organised and his victims realised with horror that Fayed's trusted staff were casually servicing his lust. When his head of occupational health refused to do gynaecological examinations, he sacked her and outsourced the work to others. There was no-one to whom victims could turn for help. Security men would threaten to sue the women for theft unless they signed a non-disclosure agreement. When Fayed's son Dodi commenced a relationship with Diana, her bodyguard was aware of Fayed's reputation and warned the Queen. A bizarre twist is that after Diana's death Fayed bought the school she had attended and used it for purposes of abuse. The author examines not only Fayed's crimes but also the conspiracy of silence around him. 346pp, colour photos.