PREDATOR Mohamed Fayed raped and sexually assaulted girls at Princess Diana’s old boarding school, a new book alleges.
A former teacher tells how the ex-Harrods owner bought West Heath School in Sevenoaks, Kent, then used it to groom pupils.
GettyThe Monster Of Harrods claims ex-Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed bought Princess Diana’s boarding school to rape and sexually assault girls[/caption]
AlamyWhen all the information about Fayed’s sex crimes came out after his death, a former teacher at West Heath School said he ‘punched the wall’ and wished he done more[/caption]
One-time Fulham FC proprietor Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94, is said to have raped a girl, caused the suicide of another and fathered a baby with an under-age pupil.
Here, in an exclusive extract from The Monster Of Harrods, author Alison Kervin tells how depraved Fayed targeted school children as well as young women at Fulham FC.
MOHAMED FAYED bought the Princess of Wales’s old school in May 1998, almost a year after her death in Paris.
His rationale was to protect the place where Diana had enjoyed herself (she had described it as the happiest time of her life).
James (not his real name), a former teacher at the school, says: “Fayed would come to the school sometimes and it would be the big Mohamed show, like when he came with celebrities (he brought Madonna in 2010).
“But there were other times when he’d come to just stroll in alone and start talking to the girls.
“I always thought it was creepy and odd. I know that’s easy to say in hindsight, but I did.
“No one seemed to stop him because he’d saved the school from closing. He was free to wander around and do whatever he liked.
“I never thought that was right.
“I thought the head-mistress should have been walking round with him, but she might not even have realised that he was there.
“He seemed to be able to turn up unannounced. Even parents aren’t allowed to walk in and walk around.”
I ask James whether he suspected that Fayed was trying to recruit girls.
“There’s no question that he was. I know he told girls he could get them jobs and he’d give them things from Harrods.
“He invited a couple of the girls to his house. I spoke to another teacher and we went to talk to a senior member of staff about it. They said that it was fine and we shouldn’t worry, but it wasn’t fine.
“I knew it wasn’t. I carried on worrying about it.
“He shouldn’t have been there. Benefactor or not, a man of that age should not be mixing with young girls, offering them lifts in his Rolls-Royce and chauffeur-driven limo, and buying them presents before inviting them to his house. How is any of that appropriate?”
‘She was terrified’
When all the damning information about Fayed’s sex crimes came out after his death, James says he “literally punched the wall in anger and frustration”, adding: “I should have done more.”
James put me in touch with a woman who worked at the school, but not as a teacher. Jessica (not her real name) says she knows of a girl who was abused by Fayed while attending West Heath School.
Jessica tells me: “I couldn’t get her to go to the police, and she refused to tell anyone at the school but me.
“I guess that because I wasn’t part of the teaching staff, she felt safer telling me. She was nervous and crying.
“Fayed had invited her to Harrods and attacked her in the boardroom.
“He didn’t manage to rape her, but he tore her clothes and he hurt her. She kicked him and he slapped her and called her an ungrateful animal.
“He said that he would pull the money out of the school and close it down if she said anything.
“He told her that her parents would be told about how she had behaved and all the school would know that she was the one who had closed the school down. She was terrified — she felt like she was to blame, and nothing I said would calm her down.”
AlamyMohamed Fayed would turn up at the school with celebrities, like Madonna in 2010[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationDiana as a schoolgirl in 1970[/caption]
Jessica says that she has been made aware of other girls who were attacked by Fayed and at least one who was raped. She reported her findings to her lawyers and plans to contact the Harrods Survivors support group on their behalf.
“When I spoke to lawyers, they put me on to some lawyers working with a lot of the victims, and they were already aware of the claims. They said they had been contacted by girls at the school and by the relatives of one girl who had committed suicide.
“The family are convinced it was because of what she went through with Fayed. I know they are also investigating that he fathered a love child with an under-age girl. I don’t know any more details.
“I don’t work at the school any more, and I’m glad Fayed is dead.”
In a statement, West Heath School said: “We do not tolerate abuse or harassment in any form.”
On May 29, 1997, Fayed stood in the middle of the pitch at his newly purchased trophy, Fulham Football Club, wrapped in the team’s scarf, and announced: “I have a football club.”
Amanda (not her real name) was on the fringes of the Fulham women’s team and keen to become the best player she could be.
“Women’s football was growing,” she says, “and Fayed had become a bit of a hero by setting up the first professional women’s side.”
Fayed invited [a schoolgirl ] to
Harrods and attacked her. He didn’t manage to rape her, but he tore her clothes and he hurt her. He said he’d pull money out of the school if she said anything
Amanda was still at school while training at Craven Cottage.
She says she told her mum that Fayed would be visiting the training ground and her mum said: “Be nice to him — make sure you stand out from the crowd.”
When Fayed walked in, Amanda says that the place went quiet and everyone stopped what they were doing.
She was nervous but remembered her mum’s words, so she bounded up to him, put out her hand to shake his hand, and said, “Hello, I’m Amanda and I’m hoping to get into the first team soon.”
Little did she know that this was manna from heaven for Fayed — a pretty young woman who wanted something that he could get for her.
‘Ran for the door’
“He came over to me later and invited me to come to his apartment to discuss my role at Fulham and whether he could help me to make it into the first team.
“I was so excited. He told me that someone from the club would drive me in, and he’d make sure I got home safely.
“When I got to his apartment he didn’t even mention football. All he wanted to know was whether I had a boyfriend, had I lost my virginity, had I ever kissed a man?
“He was sitting right next to me and had his hand on my thigh, stroking my leg as we talked.
“He said I had good legs and they’d be perfect for football. He asked me to show them to him.”
He [Fayed] asked me to bend over, and he told me to take my knickers off. I realised that was all wrong and ran for the door
Amanda was wearing her tracksuit and had no desire to remove the trousers. She remembers she felt awkward and confused.
“I can get you a place in the team,” Fayed told her. “I own the club, I can do whatever I like.
“I need to see your legs to see whether they’re strong enough.”
Amanda took down her tracksuit trousers and says that Fayed then became like an animal, reaching out to try to touch her.
“He asked me to bend over, and he told me to take my knickers off. I realised that was all wrong and ran for the door, but my tracksuit bottoms were round my ankles and I was struggling to pull them up while running.
“I got to the door and it was locked. I banged and banged on it with all my might. I’d just about got my trousers pulled up when I heard a voice on the other side, so I screamed and kicked at the door.
“I was sure Fayed was going to come running after me but he stayed in his seat, laughing at me. The door opened and I ran out.
“I didn’t stay in football long after that . . . it didn’t hold anything like the same joy for me.
“I stopped going to training and slowly drifted away from the club.”
Times Newspapers LtdOne-time Fulham FC proprietor Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94[/caption]
Amanda says of reporting the incident to the police: “I tried, but they weren’t really interested, so I left the police station.” Three of the Fulham players I have interviewed also went to the police to report Fayed, but nothing ever happened.
One other story that arose after I talked to players at Fulham concerns Kevin Keegan, the former Liverpool, Hamburg and England star, who was brought in to coach the Fulham men’s team.
Keegan left Fulham when he became England manager in 1999, citing the difficulties of coaching club and country at the same time.
Fayed said he would let Keegan go because he was a patriot.
“I’ve given you my Keegan,” he quipped at the time, “Now can I have my British passport?”
But there are stories that the situation was much more complicated than that.
Apparently Fayed and Keegan fell out because the fax machine that Fayed had given to Keegan for home use when he started at the club had stopped working.
Rather than call the club, Keegan went to a local repair centre, where a bugging device was found in the machine.
Once Keegan realised that Fayed possessed the ability to listen in on everything he and others said within the safety of his home, he decided to quit.
Keegan could not be reached for comment.
The Monster Of Harrods: Al-Fayed And The Secret, Shameful History Of A British Institution, by Alison Kervin (Harper Collins), is on sale on Thursday.
The Monster Of Harrods: Al-Fayed And The Secret, Shameful History Of A British Institution, by Alison Kervin (Harper Collins), is on sale on Thursday Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
