Harrods to remove statues of disgraced former owner Mohamed Al Fayed as Egyptian pharaoh

Luxury department store Harrods has applied for permission to update its Egyptian-themed interior, including the removal of busts inspired by disgraced former owner Mohamed Al Fayed. (Alan Davidson/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource)

Harrods, the high-end London department store, has applied to local authorities for permission to remove sculptures of disgraced former owner Mohamed Al Fayed from its interior.

The renowned business, which started life as a grocery store in 1849, has submitted detailed plans to overhaul its Egyptian-themed hall and a five-floor escalator, which currently features busts of Al Fayed depicted as a pharaoh.

In a BBC documentary last year, more than 20 female former Harrods employees accused the Egyptian billionaire, who died in 2023 aged 94, of sexually assaulting them.

A police investigation into Al Fayed, opened in the wake of the documentary, is still ongoing. London’s Metropolitan Police told CNN Thursday that the force is currently investigating the claims of more than 140 alleged victims.

One said in the BBC documentary that she had been assaulted when she was 15 and Al Fayed 79.

The alleged assaults are said to have taken place at a wide range of locations, including Al Fayed’s luxury apartment building in London, the Ritz hotel in Paris, which he owned, and Villa Windsor, the Parisian mansion that he rented and which was previously the longtime residence of the abdicated British monarch Edward VIII and his American wife Wallis Simpson.

The store has been settling claims by current and former employees and now hopes to further erase Al Fayed’s mark on the business. The detailed application to the Kensington and Chelsea council in London says “the Egyptian Escalator explicitly celebrates Mr Al Fayed, including sixteen huge sculptures of his face.”

Harrods, which Al Fayed sold to Qatar Investment Authority in 2010, has strenuously distanced itself from its former owner. A statement responding to the allegations, which remains live on the Harrods website, describes its current owners as “utterly appalled” and states that it is a “very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010.”

According to the submission, Al Fayed, who was born in Alexandria, drew on his Egyptian heritage in renovating the department store he purchased in 1985. There are 16 giant female heads on alternate levels of the escalator based on a portrait bust of Nefertiti, while the male heads depict his image.

The application says “obituaries, while referring to his extraordinary business career, characterized him as a liar, a fantasist and an aggressive sexual predator.” It adds: “The sexual abuse allegations finally destroyed Mr Al Fayed’s reputation, and the very large portrait busts of him on the Egyptian Escalator are now a visual reminder of his misdeeds.”

A spokesperson for Harrods confirmed the plans to CNN and said: “Since change of ownership in 2010, Harrods has invested heavily to return the store to its heritage while balancing the needs of modern retail to better serve our customers. Harrods is a Grade II listed (protected) building and so any proposed changes in store require considered plans, lengthy assessments, and close work with a number of relevant authorities. Having heard feedback from survivors, we have been working to expedite the proposed redevelopment project of the Egyptian escalators, and a planning and listed building consent application has now been submitted.”

A decision on the application is due on October 22.

More than 100 survivors have so far entered the Harrods Redress scheme, the store told CNN, with those deemed eligible receiving counselling as well as compensation.

The firm is also considering taking legal action against Al Fayed’s estate.

Harrods said in a statement Thursday: “In June, Harrods lodged an application at the High Court requesting the appointment of professional executors to ensure the estate of Mohamed Fayed is responsibly administered. This application potentially opens a route for survivors who have no connection to Harrods – and so are not eligible to apply to the Harrods Redress Scheme – to make claims directly against the Fayed estate. It also opens a route for Harrods to potentially seek contribution for compensation paid out by Harrods for the actions of Fayed.”

Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report.