Two 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 will continue to 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.
Dozens more have since 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 investigated in 2008 and 2013, 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.”
