Police dismissed a teenage woman who reported an alleged sexual assault by Mohamed Al Fayed in 1995, saying they’d add her identify to a pile of comparable claims.
Final month the Metropolitan police stated the primary report of sexual assault by the Harrods proprietor had been made in 2005. After the household of Samantha-Jane Ramsay, who has since died, got here ahead, the power stated it had no laptop report of her report however it could have been paper-based and never transferred.
The younger lady, generally known as Sam, additionally informed her story to the Information of the World in 1998.
Her household has now contacted the legislation agency Leigh Day, which has acquired allegations of sexual misconduct in opposition to Fayed from greater than 100 girls. “We all know 100% my sister would have been talking out if she was right here,” stated Ramsay’s sister, Emma Wills.
Ramsay started working in Harrods’ toy division on the age of 17. In line with the account she gave to the Information of the World, 5 days into her job she was summoned to Fayed’s workplace and supplied a promotion.
At a second assembly, Fayed informed her she would want to have a medical, kissed her, touched her inappropriately and handed her £200. She fled from his workplace in tears.
She reported the incident to her supervisor, who “simply sighed and stated ‘one other one’”, she informed the Information of the World. Quickly after, she was sacked.
The next day Ramsay reported the incident at Marylebone police station in central London. After the Met took no motion, her household stated they reported the alleged assault to their native police station in Hampshire. An announcement was taken and despatched to the Met, however the household heard nothing extra.
The alleged assault had a detrimental influence on Ramsay’s psychological well being and he or she tried to kill herself, her household stated. She died aged 28 when she misplaced management of her automobile and crashed.
Wills stated: “Nobody believed her or did something about it and that’s sufficient to make anybody go loopy. She reported what occurred to her 30 years in the past and he was allowed to proceed for an additional 20 years. That should have performed on her thoughts.
“She did all the best issues to attempt to blow the whistle and had the bravery and braveness to attempt to maintain Fayed accountable however nobody was , nobody would assist her … If that they had handled it correctly, what number of girls might have been saved from his abuse?”
The Met has stated it has discovered reviews from 21 girls who accused Fayed between 2005 and his loss of life in 2023.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group stated this week that 421 girls had come ahead to legal professionals, alleging sexual misconduct by Fayed. Most associated to Harrods, however there have been additionally claims of misconduct at Fulham FC and the Ritz resort in Paris, which Fayed additionally owned.
A lawyer representing the survivors’ group stated it was one of many worst instances of company abuse of girls ever seen.
Harrods has stated it’s within the strategy of settling greater than 250 claims for compensation introduced by girls alleging sexual misconduct by Fayed.
Emma Jones of Leigh Day stated: “The truth that [Sam’s] report back to the police doesn’t look like included within the 21 reviews in opposition to Fayed that they’ve confirmed to the media, and certainly pre-dates these by a decade, raises much more questions concerning the actions of the police on this matter and additional strengthens the requires a statutory public inquiry.
“As Sam’s household have stated, it additionally raises questions on what number of girls might have been saved from abuse if Sam’s complaints had been taken severely and dealt with correctly 30 years in the past.”
Commander Stephen Clayman of the Met stated: “The way in which the Met works has moved on immeasurably within the final 30 years, and our groups have remodeled the best way we examine rape and sexual offences … We have now made vital modifications and progress to ship higher outcomes for victims.”
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