Harrods Abuse Claims

Compassionate legal support and guidance for survivors of abuse

Case overview:

Harrods Abuse Claim

KP Law represents survivors of abuse connected to Mohamed Al Fayed and Harrods in claims concerning allegations of abuse and the alleged failures of corporate governance and safeguarding surrounding it.

The claims examine the circumstances in which abuse was able to take place over a prolonged period, including the role of individuals within the organisation and the extent to which concerns were known, reported or acted upon.

KP Law has been critical of the existing Harrods Redress Scheme and has pursued alternative mechanisms designed to provide a more independent, individualised and trauma-informed route to resolution.

What you need to know

KP Law has acted for hundreds of survivors in connection with the Harrods and Mohamed Al Fayed claims.

The Firm has challenged the structure of the existing Harrods Redress Scheme, including concerns regarding its management by Harrods and the need for greater disclosure concerning what senior personnel knew about the alleged abuse and when.

On 10 December 2025, KP Law announced that it had negotiated new mechanisms with Harrods and the Estate of the late Mohamed Al Fayed. These mechanisms provide an alternative route for survivors represented by KP Law and include individualised assessments, an alternative global settlement process, enhanced confidentiality and protections, changes to the medical evidence process and a route to resolution without court proceedings.

KP Law has continued to call for further disclosure and investigation of the evidence concerning the alleged abuse and the circumstances in which it was able to occur.

The mechanisms negotiated by KP Law provide a framework for assessing individual claims while allowing the underlying evidence to continue to be investigated. KP Law continues to engage with Harrods and the Estate regarding the operation of these mechanisms and the disclosure of further information relevant to the claims.

The claims concern survivors who allege that they experienced abuse connected with Mohamed Al Fayed during his ownership of Harrods.

The claims also consider the wider circumstances within which the alleged abuse occurred, including allegations concerning individuals within Harrods and the organisation’s response to concerns about Al Fayed’s conduct.

KP Law currently represents hundreds of survivors in connection with these claims, with more than 95% of its 276 survivor clients having rejected the existing Harrods Redress Scheme at the time of the Firm’s previous statement.

Why we are making the claim

The claims seek to establish accountability for the alleged abuse and to investigate whether Harrods and others failed to take appropriate steps to prevent, identify or respond to it.

KP Law has called for full disclosure of the relevant evidence and has continued to press for further investigation into the alleged network of individuals and organisational structures that may have enabled the abuse to continue. The Firm’s position is that the evidence should be fully investigated before any final conclusions are reached or settlements are concluded.

What our lawyers say:

“We have consistently challenged the structure of the Harrods Redress Scheme and the lack of transparency surrounding the organisation’s knowledge of what was taking place. The mechanisms we have negotiated provide an alternative route that allows individual claims to be assessed while further evidence can be obtained and investigated.

We will continue to press for full disclosure and urgent discussions with Harrods so that the evidence concerning the alleged abuse, and the circumstances in which it was able to occur, can be properly examined.”

Kingsley Hayes | Partner & Head of Data & Privacy Litigation

Why choose KP Law?

Dedicated Legal Support: Our experienced team is available to provide you with comprehensive legal guidance, help and support that ensures you understand your rights and options. We will fight tirelessly on your behalf to hold those responsible accountable.

Guidance Through the Legal Process: Navigating the legal system can be overwhelming, especially after experiencing such a sensitive trauma. We will explain each step of the process and stand by your side throughout your journey.

No Upfront Costs: We operate on a No-win, No-fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we successfully recover compensation for you.

Experience: KP Law has one of the most knowledgeable collective redress teams in England and Wales and is used to standing up to large, well-funded companies, having successfully acted for thousands of individuals. Indeed, with an extensive understanding of complicated litigation, and all the resources needed, it is ready to go head-to-head with defendants.

Experts: KP Law works with leading experts in medical, rehabilitation services, employment reporting and other areas of key evidence requirements in these cases.

What our lawyers say:

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Kingsley Hayes | Partner & Head of Data & Privacy Litigation

Supporting you every step of the way

If you or someone you know is a survivor of abuse in connection with Harrods and Mohammed Al Fayed we are here to help you take action and seek the justice that is deserved. At KP Law, we understand the emotional toll and trauma caused by this systematic failure of corporate responsibility. Our compassionate legal team is committed to supporting survivors through every step of the legal process.

You're in safe hands

Kingsley Hayes, Partner

Kingsley Hayes is a Partner at KP Law. He leads a passionate team that includes some of the most skilled lawyers in the country.

Emma Birch, Partner

Emma is a Partner at KP Law with responsibility for some of the Firm’s most high-profile and high-value cases. She has significant experience in leading on large-scale complex claims across a broad range of sectors. Emma’s primary focus is on achieving justice and effective redress for all of our clients. She takes a pragmatic but considered approach, ensuring that each individual client’s needs are met throughout the litigation process whilst delivering efficient resolution.

Lucy Traynor, Senior Associate

Lucy has extensive experience acting for claimants from a diverse client base and has had significant involvement in developing high-value and complex claims across the firm’s various departments. She was recently named a finalist at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards. She is highly sensitive to clients’ needs, whilst not afraid to approach things differently.

The Harrods Redress Scheme

On Wednesday 10th December 2025, KP Law announced it had negotiated new mechanisms with both the Estate of the late Al Fayed and Harrods. The agreement introduces crucial improvements and safeguards that were missing from the existing scheme, putting KP Law clients in control and giving survivors a meaningful choice in how they pursue the justice they deserve.

The new mechanisms agreed include individualised assessments, a fairer global settlement process, enhanced confidentiality and protection, amendments to the medical evidence process to reduce re-traumatisation risk and a route to resolution without court proceedings. The current Harrods scheme is to close on 31st March 2025, but the new mechanisms agreed extend this period, with an expectation that they will run until May 2026. Importantly, these mechanisms remain open to additional survivors should they wish to join the KP Law settlement process.

KP Law’s rejection of Harrods Redress Scheme is vindicated as more evidence emerges of the present senior managements team’s role during the years of abuse

“We have been highly critical of Harrods redress scheme from its initial launch, objecting to the fact that it is self-managed by Harrods and its senior management team, many of whom were part of the same senior management team present during the years of abuse. We have long argued that this should not be the case and have called for full disclosure from Harrods on who, within its senior management team, knew what and when. The announcement by the MET last week and the emergence of fresh information contained within the Bloomberg investigation, are just further examples of why the Redress Scheme is unsuitable and why over 95% of our 276 survivor clients have rejected it.

We have also questioned why there is a 31st March cut off point for the Redress Scheme, arguing that it is putting additional pressure on survivors to make a decision on the path they should take when it is clear that not all the evidence has been uncovered and Harrods own internal investigation is still ongoing. We believe, as do all our survivor clients, that no final conclusion can or should be reached until all the evidence has been fully disclosed and made public, and everyone involved held to account. The recently agreed KP Law mechanisms, negotiated with Harrods and the estate of the late Al Fayed (‘the Estate’) provide an alternative, more trauma-informed and protective alternative that directly addresses these concerns and which have no self-imposed cut off point, allowing all the evidence to be obtained and investigated thoroughly before any final settlement is concluded.

Given the new information and recent announcements, KP Law will be calling for further urgent discussions with Harrods to continue to push for full disclosure to fully understand the true extent of the enabler network that existed within the organisation, and to ensure that all our survivor clients get the justice and compensation they deserve”. Kingsley Hayes, Partner

Nearly two years on and still no justice for hundreds of victims of Al Fayed’s abuse

As the second anniversary of the BBC documentary that first revealed the scale of the horrific abuse and exploitation suffered by hundreds of survivors at the hands of Mohamed Al Fayed and those who enabled him approaches, we will spend the next two weeks highlighting the profound and lasting impact on survivors who are still seeking justice.

Having previously spoken publicly to raise awareness of the systemic abuse perpetrated by Fayed, and to reassure other survivors that they were not alone, our clients are once again finding the courage to speak out.

Read Sarah and Carrie’s stories:

Sarah's Story

Sarah is among a group of survivors bringing claims against the Estate of Mohamed Al Fayed and Harrods, although she was never employed by Harrods or directly by the family. She had simply gone for a meal with friends when she was introduced to Fayed at the restaurant, where he took advantage of the situation and subjected her to horrific abuse.

Sarah was highly critical of the time it took for the defendants to agree the mechanisms with KP Law last December. She is now appalled that the defendants and their lawyers continue to create obstacles, causing further delays and making it as difficult as possible for her, and hundreds of other survivors, to secure the justice they deserve.

Sarah commented:

“The Harrods redress scheme simply wasn’t right. Not only did it put Harrods in control, but it was focused on what was best for them, and not on the needs of the survivors.

Despite entering into the agreements with KP Law in December last year, 9 months on nothing has really changed and both The Estate and Harrods continue to place more importance on fighting between themselves and their own commercial needs rather than moving forward to resolve things.

Like every survivor, I want this over, and I need closure. I had hoped that the mechanism agreed last December would make this happen, but they have shown time and again that they simply don’t care about the impact of the delays, caused by their own actions, have on survivors.

Almost 2 years on from the documentary that exposed the true nature of the abuse all survivors deserve better”.

Sarah Savogi survived significant abuse at the hands of Fayed. She should not now be made a victim of the legal games that continue to delay justice.

Enough is enough. It is time for those responsible to stop putting obstacles in survivors’ way, do the right thing, and help every survivor obtain the justice and closure they deserve.

Carrie's Story

Caroline Lazell or Carrie as she prefers to be called, worked at Harrods for 4 years, between 1994 and 1998. Originally working on the shop floor in Women’s Fashion, she subsequently moved ‘upstairs’, becoming an in-house illustrator within the Design Team of Harrods. During her 4 years at Harrods, Carrie suffered systematic abuse at the hands of Fayed.

Having suppressed what happened to her for almost 30 years and having rebuilt her life, Carrie now has a daughter who is striking out to build a career of her own and wants to do everything in her power to protect her and ensure that businesses and society do everything possible to ensure nothing similar is allowed to happen to her and millions of others.

As with all our survivors, Carrie welcomed the KP Law mechanisms, seeing them as a very positive way forward to finally get justice and a form of closure. However, 9 months on and with still no real sign of progress, Carrie believes that Harrods and The Estate simply have no intention of putting survivors first.

The recent disclosure in the financial statements issued by Harrods that show how little they have paid out in compensation within its closed redress scheme, and the estimated total value of all the survivor claims represented by KP Law survivor clients has strengthened her belief that Harrods simply don’t care and will always continue to put itself, and its commercial needs, ahead of the survivors.

 Carrie commented

 “Even after 30 years, I can still feel the shock, anger, and betrayal that what I believed to be private medical results were passed to Al Fayed, who then seemed to take pleasure in reading them out to me.

The Harrods redress scheme, which allowed Harrods to obtain its own psychiatric medical reports, brought all this flooding back, and was one of the many reasons why I immediately rejected the scheme controlled by them.

 However, since then I have been sickened by the further delays and the constant arguments between The Estate and Harrods. This was made worse by the recent newspaper coverage that stated that Harrods has paid out over £60 million in compensation. Something that is simply not true.  When will Harrods stop lying and be honest on how many claims it has settled and how much it has actually paid out.  And why are they refusing to move forward with KP Law until the Passing Over Application has been heard later this year.  All this is doing is causing delay and more pain”.

We are now moving towards the 2-year anniversary of when the documentary aired that exposed the true nature of the abuse and exploitation suffered by hundreds of survivors. It is despicable that the legal process, aimed at getting survivors true justice and accountability is able to be held up by Harrods as they put its own commercial concerns above survivors. 

Frequently asked questions

You are able to sign up for this claim by clicking this link and providing your details. We will then send you our engagement documentation to review and sign in order to appoint us to act for you in relation to your claim. We will then be your point of contact as your claim progresses.

After you have completed the signup papers, you will receive confirmation from KP Law that we have onboarded you as a client. We will write to you with next steps and provide you with key contacts at KP Law.

Our introductory e-mail to you will include information on how we will keep in contact with you.

We are committed to ensuring that our services are fully accessible to everyone. If you have specific accessibility needs, we encourage you to let us know by emailing or calling us so that we can provide the necessary support.

It is our regulatory duty to maintain the confidentiality of your information under the UKGDPR (UK General Data Protection Legislation).

KP Law are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 661050.

KP Law will work alongside the barrister team of Dean Armstrong KC, Bruce Drummond and Maria Mulla.

No. Each client’s case will be dealt with individually and on its own merits. Whilst many clients may have had similar experiences, they will not be the same and must be handled individually.

Claims against other parties will be considered where appropriate.

It is not possible to say how quickly your case will be concluded. This is because there are many factors that will dictate the timescales that are beyond our control. What we can say is that we will aim to resolve your case as efficiently and smoothly as possible and provide you with regular updates on the progress of your claim.

We understand the emotional and physical impact such experiences can have, and we are committed to supporting you at every stage of your journey. Beyond skilled legal representation, our network includes compassionate experts experienced in assisting survivors of sexual abuse. We ensure that you have access to support tailored to your needs. Your wellbeing is our priority.

You have freedom of choice to select a Solicitor to represent you. Only the Solicitor you choose can tell you if they would instruct any particular Barrister so that is a question you should ask them.

As part of the sign up process, you will provide KPL with authorisation to access your files from the barrister team. The barrister team will arrange for your files to be uploaded to a secure file site for KP Law so there is no transmission of your sensitive information by email or other method.

The barrister team keeps a note of pseudonyms and will pass these to us as part of the data transfer process.

Latest news

Harrods seeks total indemnity from Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate against claims brought for the systematic abuse and exploitation that hundreds of women suffered.

This development comes despite Harrods previously stating that it accepted vicarious liability for the ‘despicable sexual abuse’ suffered by hundreds of survivors.This latest disclosure, on the day of the second anniversary of the documentary that highlighted the scale of the abuse by Fayed and his team of enablers, follows the

READ THE ARTICLE

KP Law’s statement on Metropolitan Police data breach

KP Law, the law firm representing more than 275 survivors in their abuse and exploitation claims against Harrods and the Estate of Mohamed Al Fayed, has today announced that it has formally written to the Metropolitan Police on behalf of clients affected by the disclosure of more than 140 survivors’

READ THE ARTICLE