Mohamed Al Fayed threw lobster at PA in front of Cheryl Tweedy & ripped open woman’s top, say victims as abuse laid bare
MOHAMED Al Fayed threw a lobster at a PA in front of Cheryl Tweedy and ripped open a woman’s top, his victims have said.
More than 20 women have laid bare the abuse they suffered at the hands of Al Fayed, who died last year.
The former Harrods owners is accused of multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse.
Former Harrods worker Gemma, 42, was hired as Fayed’s senior PA when she was 24.
She was at Harrods from 2007 until 2009 and suffered persistent harassment, groping and put-downs at Fayed’s hands.
Gemma also told how he humiliated her on his yacht Sokar, moored off Monaco.
She said: “I had a lobster thrown at me in front Ashley and Cheryl Cole.
“He threw it across the table and said ‘why aren’t you talking?’ No one said anything and carried on as if nothing happened.”
Cheryl Tweedy (formerly Cole) has been contacted for comment.
Gemma added: “Another time I remember walking off a yacht in St Tropez.
“Al Fayed said to me in front of people: ‘Carry my bag you f*****g donkey’.
“It was part of his game of humiliation. It was a power thing. It would depend on how willing you had been with him.
“If you had pushed his advances away that morning you knew you were in for a rough afternoon.
“But if he’d managed to have a grope and you’d not escaped him, you would be given gifts like bottles of perfume, cashmere scarfs.
“He would threaten you all the time and say, ‘if you are not good with me, you are in trouble’.”
Gemma added: “You would expect being fired or something.
“The security guards witnessed pretty much everything except the sexual assaults behind closed doors.
“One time I went to them for help saying he had tried to get into my room on the yacht.
“They passed me some chopsticks and a cloth and said ‘wrap the chopsticks in the cloth and jam them up against the door and that will stop him getting in’.
“I did it and it worked. He tried to get in and failed.”
In 2009 the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge Fayed over the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl.
Gemma was called into an office at Harrods to speak to police, and was told by bosses to say how nice the chairman was with her.
She said: “They made me sit there next to the Harrods lawyer. He was almost pushing my leg and telling me what to say.”
Gemma added: “I was scared for my safety and what I was experiencing.”
Katherine, now 51, was hired to work as a senior PA for Al Fayed in 2005.
She said: “From day one I had to wear a smart black suit. He said ‘this isn’t going to work’.
“Then he said ‘This is distracting’ towards my chest and ripped my buttons open.
“Then he sent me out with a wad of cash to buy suits from Zara or H+M.
“I cried because I was so humiliated. I came in the next day in a new black suit and the same thing happened.
“It happened every day for a week. I had no one to talk to and thought, ‘I’m sure they know this experience’.”
Katherine added: “Then I went to Paris with him and luckily another PA was there.
“When I went to bed that night there was no lock in the door. I was in a panic and blocked my door with a chair and a suitcase.
“The next day he went right up to my face and said ‘never block a f*****g door in my house again — do I make myself clear’.
“He had tried it and I am very grateful that I did that, especially after hearing the stories of other women.”
Katherine said: “In London I fought him off when he tried to attack me in an office.
“The next day my desk was gone. It was the last day of my probation period.
“HR said that while my work was excellent, I was not bonding with him personally. And that was my last day.”
Gemma said: “I hope women can, in future, go to work without feeling scared.
“Although he is dead, we are taking on one of the most powerful businessmen in the world.”
Damaged store might not recover
By Ashley Armstrong, Business Editor
HARRODS has survived world wars, two bomb attacks and a fire — but now its fortunes may be tarnished forever.
There are concerns wealthy shoppers may not want to be seen with its distinctive green and gold bags after the posh store admitted it failed to protect staff from predator Mohamed Fayed.
Retail consultant Mary Portas told The Sun: “The rumours were rife and he was a horror. I hope the store isn’t affected but those who surrounded and suppressed this are held to account.”
Harrods has a problem drawing a line under its former owner as echoes of Fayed remain literally all over the shop.
His garish Egyptian escalator, commissioned in 1997, still dominates the Knightsbridge department store from ground to fifth floor.
Ex-Fayed lieutenant Michael Ward has been managing director since 2005 — five years before his boss sold out for £1.5billion to the Qatari Royal Family.
Despite his sincere apology to staff, it might be understandable the Qataris would want a change of face.
Accounts this month revealed the Qataris handed themselves a £180million dividend last year, despite a 35 per cent fall in profits to £111.5million on the back of pensions changes.
In a sign of its attractiveness, sales rose by 8.2 per cent to £1billion in the past year, while other luxury stores such as Harvey Nichols struggled.