Allegations from Mohamed Al-Fayed ‘raise questions’ about Met Police | UK | News

Yesterday, Fulham football club, which was owned by Al-Fayed for 16 years, issued a statement saying they were “deeply disturbed” to hear former women’s team captain Ronnie Gibbons’ story about the abuse she suffered .

The CPS has stated that it has made a charging decision on two allegations of sexual assault relating to one female complainant.

In 2015, it made a charging decision on one charge of rape and a charge of complicity in rape by one female suspect. These allegations related to another female complainant.

This means that in 19 cases the Met failed to pass files containing details of the alleged abuse to the CPS.

Crucially, in the two cases that were passed to the CPS, the other allegations against Al-Fayed were not detailed.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Zoe Billingham, a former inspector at the police regulator, described the revelations as “shocking”.

She said: “It is unbelievable that 21 women came to the Met with what are believed to be very similar allegations about a wealthy man in a position of extreme power and authority, and yet again nothing happened.

“There should have been a full investigation. And this raises questions… Had the police even built up a good file for the prosecution?”

She added: “There is a broader question here: that is the question of culture. At that time, and perhaps even now, women who made these kinds of allegations were taken seriously, listened to or fobbed off.”

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard told the BBC: “We are carrying out full reviews of all existing allegations reported to us about Al Fayed to ensure that no new lines of inquiry arise from new information that emerges has come.

“This includes liaising with the Directorate for Professional Standards where appropriate.”