Met to investigate handling of Al Fayed complaints
Getty ImagesTwo complaints against the Metropolitan Police over its handling of allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed are to be investigated by the force under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The Met is currently reviewing a total of 21 allegations made before the former Harrods boss died in 2023. It referred two of these to the IOPC in November.
On Wednesday, the police watchdog said that the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) will investigate those two complaints, but will do so under the IOPC's direction.
Claims of sexual offences by Al Fayed arose in a BBC documentary, after his death, which revealed the extent of his predatory behaviour.
It was only after the BBC broadcast in September that the Met revealed it had been approached by 21 women before Al Fayed's death who accused him of sexual offences including rape, sexual assault and trafficking. Despite this, he was never charged with any offences.
Since the documentary aired, 90 further women have contacted the force, with allegations stretching as far back as 1977. A wider investigation by the Met into the claims against Al Fayed is ongoing.
Two of the women, whose allegations were reported in 2008, complained after the documentary about how the force had handled their claims.
The complaints relate to "concerns about the quality of police response and how details came to be disclosed publicly", a previous statement from the Met said.
IOPC director of operations Steve Noonan said: "There is widespread public concern around this case, with a significant number of allegations reported over many years while Mr Al Fayed was still alive.
"It's important that an investigation is carried out into these complaints to identify if there were any missed opportunities or failures by officers to properly investigate these reports made back in 2008."
The IOPC is directing the investigations as the Met's ongoing review of the 21 allegations means it could become much wider than the two complaints.
The complainants will be kept regularly updated during the investigation, the watchdog added.
In late November, the Met announced it had launched a new investigation, which is investigating more than five people it believes may have assisted or enabled Al Fayed's sexual offences.
The new inquiry is examining what role individuals may have played in facilitating or enabling his offending, and what opportunities they had to protect victims from his abuse, the force said.
A Met spokesperson said it was committed to openly sharing its findings "as soon as we are able to and where this won't jeopardise criminal or other proceedings".
The Al Fayed case was also raised at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.
Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale asked Sir Keir Starmer why he "declined to instigate a prosecution for rape and sexual abuse" against Al Fayed while director of public prosecutions.
The prime minister, who held the post for five years from 2008, said the case "never crossed my desk".
A BBC investigation into allegations of rape and attempted rape by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods. Did the luxury store protect a billionaire predator?