‘Sharp as a tack’ Mohamed Al Fayed faked dementia aged 90 to dodge sex abuse probe, his son claims
MOHAMED Al Fayed faked being “mentally incapacitated” to dodge investigations into sexual abuse allegations, his youngest son has claimed.
Omar Fayed, 37, has spoken opening about the “sharp as a tack” Harrods tycoon, who is now believed to have raped and abused more than 100 women.
Last month the Metropolitan Police revealed 150 people have come to them since September, with 90 new victims identified.
The incidents span almost 40 years, according to Met records, from 1977 to 2014.
All those who allege Fayed assaulted them are women, with the youngest victim aged just 13 at the time.
Son Omar told The Mail of Sunday people now “deserve somebody close to the man in question to at least help shed light on his motives”.
He previously called his father’s alleged crimes “horrifying”, and has now admitted there is some “relief” reports are “coming to light”.
Omar confessed he “knew about the call girls”, but did not know the true extent of his father’s alleged offences.
The CEO said Al Fayed was let “off the hook” in 2017 when police started investigating “on the grounds he was mentally incapacitated”.
But his son claimed he was really “sharp as a tack” and should have been held accountable “while he was still alive”.
He believed there was a lost opportunity in 2017, when Al Fayed was aged 90, and police examined abuse allegations.
He said: “If a Nazi general is found to have been hiding in the Algarve for the last 50 years then of course he should be tried.”
Omar added how he had blamed Al Fayed’s “chauvinist” behaviour on his generation and culture.
“It all became so tiresome and cliched. But what has come out now, well these are very serious allegations,” he added.
Omar spoke of Al Fayed’s childhood without a mother from the age of seven and the impact this can have on a “child’s psychological development.”
He said his father would refer to his mother as “nothing but a womb”.
The environmentalist also opened up about Al Fayed’s testosterone therapy used for a decreased libido and erectile dysfunction.
“My mother believes that getting so much extra testosterone exacerbated already problematic tendencies with his lower libido,” he said.
Talking about his father, Omar said fondly: “Above all, he was always there for me.”
The 37-year-old said he “admired his fearlessness” and “would always say what was on his mind”.
Omar added how he liked to remember Sunday afternoons “drinking tea, watching football and reading the papers” together.
Police launch probe into individuals who enabled Mohamed Fayed’s campaign of sexual abuse
POLICE have launched a probe into individuals who enabled Mohamed Fayed’s campaign of sexual abuse.
More than five associates of the disgraced Harrods tycoon are said to be under investigation.
The individuals could face charges of trafficking or other offences if they are found to have facilitated Fayed’s prolific sex offending.
The Egyptian, who died last year aged 94, was outed as a serial sexual predator in September, with hundreds of women speaking out.
The Metropolitan Police is carrying out an internal review into how the force handled allegations about the billionaire while he was alive, with 50,000 pages of evidence being reassessed.
Despite 21 allegations of rape and sexual assault being made to police before his death, London department store owner Fayed was never charged and died without his victims getting justice.
Yesterday the force revealed that 150 people have come to them since September, with 90 new victims identified.
The incidents span almost 40 years, according to Met records, from 1977 to 2014.
All those who allege Fayed assaulted them are women, with the youngest victim aged just 13 at the time.
The Met has also referred itself to the police watchdog following complaints from two women about the quality of investigations in 2008.
Investigators twice sent files for a charging decision to the Crown Prosecution Service — once in 2008 relating to three victims and again in 2015 linked to one other.
The results of the internal review are due to be published next month.
Commander Stephen Clayman, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “We are now pursuing any individuals suspected to have been complicit in his offending.”
Nevertheless, the pair did not see eye-to-eye on several subjects – including long-term relationships.
Al Fayed discouraged his son settling down, but spoke in vulgar terms, which “sickened” Omar.
The billionaire’s younger brother Salah, who was also accused of sexual assault and trafficking, shared similar advice.
Salah, who died in 2010, allegedly raped and drugged a former Harrods employee.
Omar continued: “I am sad that victims of these horrific alleged crimes were not able to address them in a timely manner.
“Maybe then they could have had some form of closure. There might have been some comeuppance, consequences.”
He said his father “embodied systematic issues” including racism and homophobia.
Omar also discussed how heartbroken his father was after the death of his son Dodi in 1997 after the Paris car crash with Princess Diana.
He said it “decimated” Al Fayed, who “was never the same again”.
His brother’s death also affected him deeply, he was sent back to school two weeks after the tragedy and “couldn’t take it”.
The publisher then recalled his memories of being with the late Princess, Harry and William on her last holiday.
The trio joined Dodi on Al Fayed’s yacht in the South of France when Omar was 10.
He spoke about a “raucous” balloon fight with Prince Harry that had to be broken up by staff.