HARRODS fiend Mohamed Fayed raped an employee who was then pressured to have an abortion by store bosses, an explosive new book claims.
Speaking for the first time, the woman using alias Belinda says a Fayed doctor helped arrange the termination of her baby after insisting: “Harrods will pay for it.”
Times Newspapers LtdMohamed Fayed raped an employee who was then pressured to have an abortion by Harrods staff, an explosive new book reveals[/caption]
AFPIn The Monster of Harrods, author Alison shares Belinda’s experiences which would scar her for life[/caption]
When Belinda said she wanted to meet a friend to talk matters through, it is alleged the store’s head of security strong-armed her into aborting and keeping it secret.
The former perfume counter worker, who was left suicidal by her ordeal, reveals in new book The Monster Of Harrods: “I had the abortion, they gave me an envelope with £1,000 in it — and told me that I no longer had a job.”
She adds: “I went home and I’ve never been back to Harrods since.
“Losing a baby like that was hard — no woman wants to have her rapist’s baby — but I never had children. I was scarred by what I went through and sometimes think about how different my life might have been if I’d never gone to work at Harrods.”
On Wednesday a group handed a letter to Downing Street calling for witnesses to be compelled to answer questions under oath about who covered up Fayed’s offending.
More than 500 women have come forward to say they were raped or sexually abused by Harrods and Fulham FC owner Fayed, who died in 2023 aged 94.
If true, it would make him a predator on the scale of BBC beast Jimmy Savile, whose reign of terror emerged after his death in 2011.
Belinda’s ordeal began almost 30 years ago when she got a job at the store in Knightsbridge, London.
She was soon noticed by Fayed and offered a promotion from the sales floor to the buying team, which was her dream
A few days later, he invited her to his private apartment.
In the book, by Alison Kervin, Belinda says: “When I look back now, I wish I’d spoken to someone . . . anyone. But I didn’t. I went up to his apartment and I was raped by him.”
When she later realised she was pregnant she met Harrods doctor Wendy Snell — now dead — who told her that “I should keep quiet about it and she’d arrange for me to have an abortion”.
She was told she would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) but insisted she first wanted to discuss matters with a pal, the next day.
But before she met the friend, in a South London cafe, she realised she was being followed by two men — one of whom she recognised as Harrods security chief John Macnamara.
Belinda says Macnamara — now also dead — “turned nasty” and made her sign the NDA, saying “he knew where my parents lived”.
I had the abortion, and they gave me an envelope with £1,000 in it and told me I no longer had a job
Belinda
In Fayed’s lifetime, 21 women made allegations against him. Four were reports of rape, 16 of sexual assault and one of trafficking.
The Met Police twice sent files for a charging decision to the CPS relating to three victims in 2008 and one other in 2015.
On a further three occasions, in 2018, 2021 and 2023, the CPS was asked for what is called early investigative advice from cops. But no charges were ever brought.
Last year, though, the Met said it was investigating at least five people it believes may have assisted or enabled Fayed’s alleged offences.
MedstarsWhen Belinda realised she was pregnant she met Harrods doctor Wendy Snell — now dead — who told her that ‘I should keep quiet about it and she’d arrange for me to have an abortion’[/caption]
PAHarrods security chief John Macnamara told Belinda she would be given money for an abortion and needed to sign an NDA[/caption]
The Met is being investigated by the police watchdog amid claims it failed to pursue him properly.
In The Monster of Harrods, author Alison shares Belinda’s experiences which would scar her for life.
Belinda says: “I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that Fayed ruined everything for me, for ever, the day he raped me.”
She was working on the perfume sales floor when she found herself at the centre of Fayed’s fantasies.
Belinda says in the book: “The chairman’s personal assistant called and asked me to come to his office.
“He seemed genuinely impressed and said he could get me a job in the buying department, which was something I desperately wanted.”
A few days later, Belinda was moved to the department. Then she was invited to Fayed’s private apartment, and thought he might explain what her new role involved.
‘SOILED GOODS’
Little did she know what horror awaited her behind closed doors.
She says that after the rape, she fled the apartment, past security guards, and ran home.
Next morning she called in sick — and when she went in the morning after that, her desk had disappeared and she had been moved back to the sales floor.
She says: “I was soiled goods. I was made to feel disgusting, and I’d done nothing wrong other than be attacked by this man.”
Two months went by, with Belinda hiding whenever Fayed went past.
She says: “I was worried if he saw me there he might sack me.”
One day Belinda realised it had been ages since her period.
She says: “I went to the chemist’s and bought a pregnancy testing kit.
“It was positive. I hadn’t slept with anyone for months. I knew it must be my rapist’s child.
“I felt scared, alone and terrified. I kept thinking that maybe the test was wrong. Then I made the most stupid mistake of my life. I went to see Dr Wendy Snell.
“I told her I might be pregnant and she gave me a test to do. When it came back positive, I burst into tears and explained what had happened.
“She told me I should keep quiet and she’d arrange for me to have an abortion. Harrods would pay for it and no one would find out. She told me to come back next day and it would be arranged.
“All I had to do was sign an NDA and the rest would be taken care of.
“At no time did she say, ‘Do you want this baby?’ That wasn’t on the cards because it wouldn’t have suited the chairman, and his views were all that mattered.
“I didn’t go back the next day. I felt too nervous and confused. Instead, I phoned in sick and made a plan to meet a friend in a cafe to see what she thought I should do.
“I left home at 11am and realised straightaway I was being followed.
“As I got to the cafe in Putney, two men approached me. I recognised one from the store. I now know he was John Macnamara.”
She was told she would be given money for an abortion and needed to sign an NDA.
I went to the chemist’s and bought a pregnancy testing kit. It was positive. I hadn’t slept with anyone for months. I knew it must be my rapist’s child
Belinda
But Belinda said she wanted to talk to someone first. She says: “They turned nasty and said there was no time to mess around and I had to sign it straightaway.
“One — I think it was Macnamara — said he knew where my parents lived and would cause trouble if I breathed a word.
“I was basically made to sign the NDA, then they said I was to leave for work as usual the next morning, and they would accompany me to have an abortion. My parents are both alive and neither knows.”
PAMore than 500 women have come forward to say they were raped or sexually abused by Harrods and Fulham FC owner Fayed[/caption]
GettyBBC beast Jimmy Savile, whose reign of terror emerged after his death in 2011[/caption]
The Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the secret, shameful history of a British institution, by Alison Kervin, is on sale on June 5
Belinda says she had the abortion, was given £1,000 and told she was no longer a Harrods employee.
She adds: “The fact the doctor was in on it and was acting against my best interests was just awful.
“That vile organisation headed by a monster, it makes me want to scream and lash out. I wish he was still alive. I wish we could all go and kill him.
“How does one man get away with decades of abusing women and never get caught?”
Monster made PA bray like a donkey
By Oliver Harvey, Chief Features Writer
TWO more women tell book The Monster of Harrods how Fayed abused staff and loved to exert his power.
Philippa, not her real name, was 18 when she went to work for him as a PA.
On her second day she was told to sit next to Fayed with six experienced PAs lined up in front of them. She recalls: “It was clear he was unhappy, and this was his way of getting petty revenge.”
She says Fayed pointed to the PA at the end and said: “Your shoes are too high — on the floor, crawl like a donkey.”
Philippa remembers seeing the woman had flat shoes on. But that was irrelevant.
Fayed wanted to abuse someone, so he’d make up any old reason to do so.
Philippa said: “Fayed shouted: ‘Louder, more like a donkey, bray like a donkey.’
“The woman was crying. It was horrible and humiliating. Some of the other women started crying too. That made him laugh even more.
“Then he urged the woman to kick the other women, adding: ‘Kick harder. Come on, donkey.’ He threw loads of £20 notes and told her to pick them up in her mouth.
“Fayed laughed like he’d never seen anything so funny.
“It was awful. He turned to me and said, ‘Which one next?’ I didn’t say anything, and he told me that if I didn’t choose, I’d be sacked.
“There must have been a knock at the door or a phone rang because he was distracted and dismissed us all.”
Another woman, “Ellen”, says she was walking through Harrods with Fayed when he saw a man on crutches.
“Find out who that is,” he said. Ellen approached the man. “He explained he’d broken two toes playing football in the Harrods team.
“I told him he’d done well to come in the next day and asked him whether his foot hurt.
“He said it was very painful but he didn’t want to leave the department short-staffed. I thought that was incredible of him.
“I told Fayed. I thought he’d be thrilled by the loyalty.
“But he said: ‘I don’t like cripples – get rid of him.’ I said: ‘What? Sack him?’
“Fayed said: ‘Yes, no cripples and no fatties. He can leave straightaway.’”
THE Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the Secret, Shameful History of a British Institution, by Alison Kervin, is on sale on June 5.
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