Met urged to treat Harrods abuse scandal as trafficking operation

Survivors want to ensure that the police uncover the full, scope of what they say amounts to trafficking associated with Al Fayed-controlled enterprises, including during his ownership of Harrods rather than limiting the case to historic sexual abuse.

Leigh Day partner Emma Jones has written to senior Met officers on behalf of survivors raising concerns that the Met’s current approach fails to use the full range of investigatory powers available to it under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Survivors say this failure leaves them feeling that the systemic coercion, control and exploitation they experienced over decades is being minimised. They also say that the Met’s ongoing investigation is slow.

The letter urges the Met to use the lens of the Modern Slavery Act to understand the full nature of the allegations; this type of investigation is available even where specific offences took place before the Act came into force in 2015. The letter states that the police and CPS already apply this approach in other long‑running exploitation cases, including on investigations into pre‑2015 trafficking rings.

Survivors say that the systems used by Al‑Fayed and those around him - including the use of non‑disclosure agreements, surveillance, and a workplace culture where complaints vanished - are characteristic of servitude and exploitation defined in the Modern Slavery Act.

Leigh Day partner Emma Jones, who represents a number of survivors, said:

“Survivors’ accounts clearly describe a pattern of exploitation, coercion and abuse of power that mirrors the definitions of slavery and trafficking set out in the Modern Slavery Act. We are urging the Metropolitan Police to investigate these allegations through the proper legal framework so that the full truth can be uncovered. 

“Survivors have waited years for meaningful action. A thorough investigation by the police and a statutory public inquiry is essential to ensure accountability and to prevent these abuses from ever being repeated.”