Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed: Royal security chief says he ‘warned the Queen he was a dirty old man’

The late Queen was warned that Mohamed Al Fayed was a “salacious attacker of women” before Princess Diana’s death, it emerged on Thursday, as five women accused the former Harrods boss of rape.

As a BBC investigation revealed a slew of sexual assault allegations against the late billionaire, Scotland Yard’s former head of royalty protection Dai Davies disclosed that police were first made aware of such accusations against Al Fayed in the 1990s.

Mr Davies told an adviser to Queen Elizabeth II of his concerns about the Princess of Wales and her sons, William and Harry, going on holiday with Al Fayed and his son, Dodi, shortly before Diana’s death in 1997, but says his advice was ignored.

Dodi Fayed died with Priness Diana in the car crash and after their deaths Al Fayed installed a public memorial inside Harrods and pushed for their deaths to be investigated.

On Thursday Sir Keir Starmer faced questions about the failure to prosecute Al Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94, during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions as it was alleged that the tycoon preyed on staff for decades.

The Prime Minister was head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2009 when its lawyers decided not to charge the Egyptian-born businessman over claims that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old schoolgirl the previous year.

Downing Street said Sir Keir, who quit his role at the CPS in 2013, had no involvement in the decision and the case “did not cross his desk”.

However, the Conservatives said it was “yet another instance of failure” of the organisation under his watch after it also failed to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Savile.

Mr Davies said: “There are serious questions here about why these allegations were not pursued.

“Why wasn’t something done about it? There are clearly other victims out there.

“Why was it decided that they were not worthy of prosecution?” Matt Vickers, shadow minister for crime and policing, said: “Keir Starmer is always eager to take credit for other people’s work at the CPS, but whenever something went wrong under his watch it was always someone else’s fault.

“There was a chance to prosecute Al Fayed while Starmer was DPP but it was not taken. These latest revelations show this was yet another instance of failure.”

Al Fayed went on to be accused of further sexual allegations including rape, which forced Scotland Yard to seek investigative advice from the CPS another three times in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

The BBC revealed bombshell testimony from more than 20 female ex-employees at the luxury London department store who claimed the tycoon sexually assaulted or raped them.

They alleged that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods helped cover up allegations of attacks on staff at his lavish apartments in Park Lane, the Ritz hotel in Paris and trips to St Tropez and Abu Dhabi.

Mr Davies said that he had previously warned the late Queen about swirling rumours.

He said: “In 1997 there were already allegations he had been bribing MPs to table questions in the House and he had a salacious reputation.

“There were concerns about his persona as a dirty old man. There were allegations I was aware of that Al Fayed had sexually assaulted women then paid them off. I had no compunction in warning the Queen about this individual. I advised the Queen, through Lord Fellowes [her private secretary at the time], not to let the boys go away on holiday with him because of the allegations I was aware of – that he was a salacious attacker of women.

“[Fellowes] said to me: ‘The Palace is aware, Mr Davies’.”

“My job was to protect the reputation, as I saw it, of the royal family.”

Mr Davies added: “At that time the Met were not investigating any alleged offences against women, but violence against women and girls wasn’t the priority it is now.

“I did have a discussion with the then commissioner, Lord Condron about my concerns. He (Al Fayed) had a reputation of being a sleazebag.

“Ultimately my advice was ignored. (Diana) flew off from Kensington Palace when Al Fayed sent his helicopter.”

During the inquest into the death of Princess Diana, Lord Fellowes denied speaking to Mr Davies about Al-Fayed.

It would be another decade before Scotland Yard launched a formal investigation in May 2008 when it was alleged that the then 75-year-old had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.

On December 10 that year, the Met referred a file of evidence to the CPS where Sir Keir was just a month into his new job as DPP.

But it was decided not to press charges “as there was not a realistic prospect of conviction, based on the evidence available”.

Further allegations came to light in October 2013 when another woman reported that she had been raped in his Mayfair apartment after a job interview.

On Thursday, the Met urged anyone assaulted by Al Fayed to come forward.