Lawyer calls for ‘calm and considered’ response over Al Fayed abuse claims
Mohamed Al Fayed, who died last year, is accused of multiple sexual assaults.
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Your support makes all the difference.A lawyer representing alleged victims of Mohamed Al Fayed has called for a calm and considered approach to the settling of personal injury claims, to “ensure justice for women injured over so many years”.
Mr Al Fayed, the former Harrods and Fulham FC owner who died last year aged 94, is accused of multiple sexual assaults after a BBC investigation was published last month.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating a number of new allegations made against Mr Al Fayed, in addition to previous reports.
These types of personal injury claims require careful assessment and depend on a detailed process of fact-checking and evidence gathering. You can't rush them
On Wednesday, Claire Glasgow, a specialist personal injury solicitor at Fieldfisher, urged women thinking about bringing legal claims against Mr Al Fayed for sexual abuse to take a “calm and considered approach” in how they are run.
She said: “It might feel easy to get caught up in the current furore around accusations against Mr Al Fayed, not least since a deceased person cannot be libelled, but the right processes must be followed to ensure justice for women injured over so many years.”
Ms Glasgow is representing a number of women in claims against Mr Al Fayed and is also currently running similar cases against other high-profile figures.
She told the PA news agency: “These types of personal injury claims require careful assessment and depend on a detailed process of fact-checking and evidence gathering. You can’t rush them.
“It’s also important to understand that generally there is a three-year limitation period from the date of the assault to starting a claim, although there can be exceptions.”
She advised anyone considering coming forward to check that their case is run on a “no-win, no-fee basis”.
They should be protected from paying legal fees out of any settlement, with the defendant covering the costs on top of damages, she said.
Ms Glasgow also urged any alleged victims to consider carefully the implications of waiving their right to anonymity.
She said: “Anyone considering making a claim should also think hard about whether they actually want to waive their anonymity.
“In the UK, any potential victim of rape and sexual assault receives automatic anonymity, so that their name is not public.
“Should someone choose to waive that anonymity, it’s not something you can take back. That means if details of what happened are later heard in court, the person’s name will also be read out and potentially reported in the press.”
While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future
Harrods responded to the BBC documentary aired on September 19 with a statement on its website saying the company was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and inviting alleged victims to complete a form for a compensation claim.
The statement said: “While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.”
Ms Glasgow said: “While it is good to see Harrods taking responsibility for the harm caused, the process cannot be on Harrods’ terms and must align with the women’s legal rights, including their right to choose their own legal help and to claim back the costs of that.
“A robust system needs to be in place with Harrods, perhaps involving a victims’ fund, so that everyone is properly protected.”
Previously, Scotland Yard said it would carry out “full reviews of all existing allegations” of incident assault said to have taken place between 1979 and 2013, to ensure there are “no new lines of inquiry based on new information which has emerged”.
The Met has said it was contacting lawyers representing alleged victims to “ensure they have the opportunity to speak with us and report any offences”.