Police Scotland has reopened an inquiry into sex assault claims against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The investigation will examine allegations of abuse at the billionaire's Balnagown Castle estate in Ross-shire, Scotland, dating back more than three decades.
The renewed probe follows the emergence of a new witness who can reportedly corroborate the account of Sophia Stone, a former Harrods worker. Stone claims she was subjected to an attempted rape at the estate in 1991. She initially reported the incident to Police Scotland in 2021, but the force stated at the time that there was insufficient corroboration to proceed.
A second woman has also claimed she was sexually assaulted by another member of the Fayed family at the estate decades ago. At the time of Ms Stone's initial report, the Metropolitan Police had received dozens of similar complaints against Al Fayed.
Al Fayed died two years after Ms Stone's 2021 report, without facing legal consequences for the allegations.
Ms Stone expressed disappointment that she learned of the reopened investigation from a journalist rather than directly from the police. She stated her satisfaction with the decision to re-examine her case, emphasizing the personal devastation caused by its initial closure.
Ms Stone began working at Harrods in 1988 and was promoted to Al Fayed's personal assistant. She alleges that during a trip to Balnagown Castle, Al Fayed entered her room, removed his dressing gown, and forced himself upon her. She described the incident as a lasting trauma.
While Al Fayed is deceased, Ms Stone believes others who allegedly enabled his actions, trafficked women for him, or witnessed his abuses should be held accountable. She highlighted that many individuals around Al Fayed continued their lives while survivors have lived with the consequences for decades.
Keaton Stone, Ms Stone's husband, has been investigating Al-Fayed's alleged crimes, which has reportedly led to over 400 women coming forward. The Metropolitan Police are investigating more than 150 allegations against the former Harrods owner.
He established the campaign group Justice For Fayed & Harrods Survivors, which collaborates with MPs and the survivor group No One Above. He voiced hope that the reopened investigation could lead to arrests, stating that Al Fayed did not orchestrate his alleged widespread abuse alone.
Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Survivors of Fayed and Harrods, welcomed the Police Scotland investigation. She expressed hope that it would deliver the accountability survivors seek, noting previous survivor concerns about the thoroughness of investigations into Al Fayed and his enablers.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed that further investigation is ongoing, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further.