The managing director of Harrods has accused his former boss Mohamed Al Fayed of presiding over “a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.
Five women have alleged they were raped by Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, with several others alleging sexual misconduct.
In a written statement, Michael Ward apologised and said the business “failed our colleagues”.
It said: “As managing director of Harrods, I wanted to convey my personal horror at the revelations that have emerged over the past week.
“We have all seen the survivors bravely speak about the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of Harrods former owner Mohamed Fayed.
“As we have already stated, we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry.”
“As someone who has worked at Harrods since 2006, and therefore worked for Fayed until the change of ownership in 2010, I feel it is important to make it clear that I was not aware of his criminality and abuse.
“While it is true that rumours of his behaviour circulated in the public domain, no charges or allegations were ever put to me by the Police, the CPS, internal channels or others. Had they been, I would of course have acted immediately.”
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