A group representing alleged victims of former Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed says it has now been contacted by more than 400 people. These include further alleged victims and witnesses.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors Group said the people coming forward were from a number of places including Fulham FC and the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, which Fayed also owned.
There have been a string of allegations against the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, following a BBC documentary about his behaviour in which several women accused him of abuse.
The allegations include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual battery and sexual abuse of minors.
Speaking at a news conference in London, lawyers said the survivors group is now dealing with 421 inquiries concerning Fayed.
The group said the majority of claims made against Fayed have come from the UK, but there are also claims from the US, Canada, Asia, Australia and other parts of Europe.
One of those who has alleged to have been abused by Fayed is Paul Gascoigne’s daughter, Bianca.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this month she said she was groomed and sexually assaulted when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
Former Fulham captain hopes speaking out will make a difference
Meanwhile, a former Fulham women’s captain has thanked those who first went public about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Fayed for giving her the courage to speak out.
Ronnie Gibbons, who captained the club’s women’s team in the 2000-01 season, went on the record to say she had twice been sexually assaulted by Fayed in an office at the Harrods department store he owned in Knightsbridge.
Lawyers representing Gibbons told the PA news agency earlier this month that she had waived her right to anonymity after giving an interview to The Athletic.
Gibbons told a Justice for Harrods Survivors Group media briefing she had drawn strength from the testimony of other women who had spoken to the BBC about the sexual abuse they were subjected to by Fayed, who owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013.
Speaking in a video message, Gibbons said: “I would have really liked to have met some of the other amazingly brave ladies who are speaking up about Mohamed Al Fayed and his appalling behaviour.
“Seeing you speak helped me to have the courage to get in touch with the barristers.
“And, as difficult as it’s been, it’s been very empowering. I know that by speaking out, we are making it harder for this kind of behaviour to be tolerated anywhere.
“I know we are making it easier for others to speak up. I wish I had the same support system when I went through what I did.
“I’m a parent now, and one of the main reasons I’m doing this is to make a better world for my child and future generations.”
Gibbons has previously said she felt she could not speak out about the abuse at the time for fear of jeopardising the careers of herself and her team-mates.
‘Placed in an impossible position’
Dean Armstrong KC, part of the legal team working with the survivors group, said: “Her sense of responsibility to her team-mates and the Fulham Ladies Club as a whole placed her in an impossible position.
“There were magazine shoots in ball gowns and tight football shorts, which were seemingly obligatory, and Ronnie was told that, at Al Fayed’s request, she was to wear her hair down.”
Prior to Gibbons speaking out, former Fulham Ladies manager Gaute Haugenes said extra precautions had been put in place to “protect” players from Fayed.
Haugenes, who managed the team from 2001 to 2003, told the BBC that members of staff were aware Fayed “liked young, blonde girls”.
Gibbons told The Athletic she had been angered by those comments, and Haugenes subsequently apologised to the same publication for the hurt the comments had caused her.
A statement from Fulham earlier this month said: “We unequivocally condemn all forms of abuse. We remain in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or would have been impacted by Mohamed Al Fayed in any manner as described in recent reports.
“Should any person wish to share information or experiences related to this matter, we urge them to contact the police or the club at safeguarding@fulhamfc.com.”
