A former chief executive at Harrods said he witnessed Mohamed Al Fayed’s “abhorrent” behavior during his brief time at the iconic UK retailer — but claims he was not aware of any sexual abuse, according to a report.
More than 20 women told the BBC in a new documentary that Egyptian billionaire Fayed – who died last year at 94 – raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the London department store throughout his 25 years as Harrods’ owner.
Now, James McArthur – who served as Harrods’ CEO for just 10 months in 2008 – has spoken out about Fayed’s behavior.
“I was indeed CEO of Harrods for a short, and most unpleasant, 10 months during 2008 under Fayed,” McArthur told the BBC in a statement.
“While Fayed’s behaviour was often abhorrent in many ways, and professional relationships with him were largely dysfunctional, I was not aware of any sexual abuse by him – if I had been, I would have taken action.”
McArthur said Fayed used inappropriate humor and was unprofessional.
The former chief executive worked under Fayed while police officers were investigating an alleged assault on a 15-year-old girl in a Harrods boardroom.
McArthur said he was unaware of the investigation.
“Fayed would, I imagine, have tried to keep anything like that closely under his control within the secure precinct of the chairman’s office,” McArthur told the BBC.
The BBC told McArthur that the investigation was covered by numerous media outlets in 2008.
“I do not recall that at all,” McArthur insisted.
Police officers presented the Crown Prosecution Service with evidence in 2009 and 2015 to charge Fayed – but the agency chose not to pursue a conviction both times.
McArthur was not the only chief executive to leave the iconic London department store after a short time as Harrods saw high leadership turnover under Fayed.
After leaving Harrods, McArthur took the helm at Anya Hindmarch – an English luxury handbag company – and then served as chairman at a number of companies, most recently at luxury designer Lulu Guinness, according to his LinkedIn.
He has not listed a place of employment on his profile since 2021. His job title on LinkedIn is currently “Investor/Director/Advisor.”
“My heart goes out to Fayed’s victims, and I do hope very much that they will get the justice and closure that they are seeking,” McArthur told the BBC.
McArthur declined to provide further comment.
Andre Maeder – the chief executive at Harrods rival Selfridges and a former Harrods director from 1996 to 2002 – said on Monday he was “horrified” to learn about the allegations.
He told the BBC he “never saw or heard anything” about the abuse.
Harrods is currently investigating whether current staffers worked to cover up Al Fayed’s alleged abuse.
But lawyer Maria Mulla, who represents the former Harrods employees, said the retailer’s investigation is not impartial nor independent.
“The way they looked into those allegations was to undermine them,” she told the BBC.
Mulla said the scale of the allegations could grow to be “absolutely massive.”
Last week, Mulla and her team represented 37 women. Since then, the lawyers have heard from 100 people – including women raising “serious” inquiries and people wanting to help with evidence, she said.
Harrods — which was bought by the state of Qatar in 2010 — said it “failed our employees who were his victims” and vowed to settle legal claims “in the quickest way possible” in a statement.
Harrods has reached financial settlements with a majority of former employees who accused Fayed of abuse, according to the BBC.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do,” the company said in a statement.
Harrods did not respond to requests for further comment.
Many of the victims described a culture of fear at the department store that stopped them from coming forward years earlier.
Lawyers for the victims claimed Fayed assaulted and raped female staffers at the department store, forced them to have medical screenings and threatened them if they tried to speak out.
One woman said she received a phone call from Al Fayed’s security that he knew where her parents lived after she spoke to a journalist about her boss’s behavior.
Another woman said a member of Harrods’ human resources team was present when lawyers destroyed evidence of Fayed’s assault against her.
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