What we learnt from Fayed sex abuse press conference

Mohamed Al Fayed was a "monster" who threatened his sexual abuse victims to stay silent, lawyers representing former Harrods employees told a news conference on Friday.

Giving harrowing details of what is alleged to have taken place, the legal team and one of Fayed's many alleged victims recounted how the former owner of Harrods used his power to force himself on women, had them followed and made them have sexual health checks.

The legal team representing 37 women who say they were sexually assaulted or raped by the late billionaire spoke publicly to outline how the former Harrods boss used "his wealth and power to manipulate and control victims".

Here are five things we learnt.

Warning: this story contains details some may find distressing.

Fayed was a "serial sexual abuser" whose abuse was "constant and repetitive" over 25 years, barrister Dean Armstrong KC said.

"I have many years of practice... I have never seen a case as horrific as this," he told the news conference.

"This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

"Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour", Mr Armstrong continued.

"Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls. As you know, there are some very young victims.

"And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.

"We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster."

Not only was Fayed a "monster", but "he was a monster aided by an institution", Mr Armstrong alleged of Harrods, the upmarket London department store owned by the billionaire between 1985 and 2010.

He claimed it was "simply not true" that Harrods did not know of the allegations until 2023.

Mr Armstrong told the news conference that "systematic abuse" was known of "well before this".

"Those who controlled Harrods knew about Mohamed Al Fayed's inappropriate behaviour", he said, adding that choosing to only address the claims now was an "insult" to the "brave" survivors.

"We are here to say publicly and to the world, or to Harrods in front of the world, that it is time that they took responsibility, and it is time that they set matters right, and that is something they should do as soon as possible.

"They need to face up to accept the responsibility, that they have full culpability for the abuse that these women suffered.

"Today, we are going to set out our claim and how our claim shows an abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system of work."

The BBC has contacted Harrods in response to the claims made in the news conference.

Earlier this week, in response to claims of sexual assault and rape by Fayed, made by ex-Harrods employees in a BBC investigation, Harrods - which has been under new ownership since 2010 - said it has a process available to women who say they were attacked by Fayed, adding "it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved".

Harrods reiterated its apology to its former staff after the BBC investigation was published.

The company previously told 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.”

Fayed's victims were told they would "never work in London again" and "we know where your family live", to stop them from speaking out, barrister Maria Mulla told the news conference.

She gave the example of a woman who wrote a formal complaint to Harrods after allegedly being sexually assaulted by Fayed. Ms Mulla said on the same day the complaint was made, the head of security told the victim: "'You are a girl, alone in London, someone could jump out the bushes at you or you could have a sudden accident.

"'You need to deny what you said in the first letter in a second letter which you must drop off before noon on the following day.'"

Not only were they threatened, but women who made complaints to Harrods were "often demoted" and "false accusations made against them so that they had no choice at all but to leave Harrods", Ms Mulla alleged.

Another example she gave was of a woman who wanted to resign after being sexually assaulted and suffering from degrading behaviour. Ms Mulla said the woman was called into an office by the head of security, told she had been "disloyal and had to resign immediately", and that that if she ever spoke to press there would be "serious consequences".

After leaving Harrods, this woman was subjected to threats over the phone by the head of security, Ms Mulla said. Due to this she became "very depressed and suicidal and was admitted to psychiatric unit for six months of her life". The whole experience left her "unable to form any proper relationship with any other man" and she "lost out on the opportunity to have her own family", Ms Mulla said.

Female employees were also followed, the barrister said, giving the example of a 16-year-old who was tailed by a member of Fayed's security team to "check if she was in a relationship", with reports going back to the billionaire.

Phone calls were also listened in on, Ms Mulla said, and if members of the security team heard anything "untoward" or "negative about Mohamed Al Fayed", again they would be reported back.

Women who had been identified by Fayed would be "sent for a private medical investigation", Ms Mulla said.

She told how women would arrive "none-the-wiser", expecting a normal medical test - but were instead subject to a "full internal screening" - cervical smear tests and full sexual health checks. Some would even have their ovaries checked, she said.

If the women questioned what was happening, they would be told "he [Fayed] wants to check you are clean".

Sometimes the women would not find out the results themselves but they were passed on to Fayed who would make "degrading and humiliating remarks" about the results, Ms Mulla said.

One of those who had to go through these checks was Natacha, who says she believes she was "checked for my purity" and she never received any of the results from the tests.

Speaking at the news conference, the former Harrods employee told how working for Fayed was like walking "into a lion's den - a lair of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct".

Fayed was a "a sick predator who lured me in" using "modus operandi he used time and time again", Natacha alleged.

She said she was just 19, "young, naïve and totally innocent" when she was offered a supporting role to the billionaire's private PA.

She said Fayed "behaved like a father figure", told her to call him "papa", and "often spoke about his family and children, as if to make me feel safe around him."

Natacha alleged Fayed would hold "private meetings" with her which over time would involved a "forced kiss" or being "pulled down on to his lap" with his hands "exploring any part of your body that he wished". She recalled feeling "paralysed" as this happened, and being told not to talk about it as "he would know".

Natacha recounted her "final night" working at Harrods, when she was "summoned" up to Fayed's private apartment for a "work meeting" and the door was locked behind her. She told the conference how the door to his bedroom had been left open and she could see sex toys. She alleged that Fayed "pushed himself on to me. I fell to the floor with him on top of me", she said, adding she "kicked him off" and ran to the door, but Fayed "just laughed at me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was never to breathe a word of this to anyone. If I did, I would never work in London again and he knew where my family lived. I felt scared and sick... I never set foot in his office again".

Natacha said her experiences left her struggling with confidence and in personal relationships for years.

When she saw that Fayed had died last September aged 94, she said she "couldn't believe this monster had gotten away with his crimes. Thankfully today, this is a different story and I am truly grateful for that".

• If you are affected by issues of sexual assault you can contact the BBC Action Line here