Al Fayed: Will the Met be held to account alongside Harrodse?

[PenelopePitStrop]

Lots on the news about the upcoming Harrods Press conference and their claims that they will address their responsibility.

But in the programme last night it was clear that the police investigation was brief, interviews very brief and not followed up, and worse, one woman reported that her phone, which was loaded with evidence against him, had her phone returned to her wiped of all evidence and not working. And no charges brought.

Will the Met be held to account?

Their record wrt women’s safety is appalling IMO, from inadequate handling of sex offences due to banal incompetence right through to harbouring rapists.

ETA sorry, the Press Conference is by the victims’ representatives, not Harrods.

I'm sorry to sound like a cynical old hag, that's because I am. I think that there will only be a high profile reckoning for this if there is something more current going on they want to distract us from. I doubt anyone will lose their jobs or pension because of it. I expect some women will get out of court settlements in return for NDAs.

Did you watch any of the Press Conference?

It was really long and went into lots of detail, and the barristers and Gloria Allred spoke at length about the weight and might they would bring to pursuing justice for the victims.

I also tend to cynicism, but in answer to a question later on (from the Telegraph - politically motivated because they used it to have a go at KS - which the barrister picked up on - the barrister was explicit in saying that the police had been involved in cover-ups (paraphrase) - but seemed to be keeping their powder dry on what steps they would take.

Gloria A was magnificent, and very experienced top barristers working for the victims.

Victims of what? What has he been charged with?

Al - Fayed is dead, so he hasn’t been charged with anything.

But victims of rape, sexual assault and workplace harassment.

My understanding is that some victims signed NDAs in return for settlements but that lawyers should have advised against where the behaviour from Al Fayed was (allegedly) of a criminal nature, as NDAs are more for civil matters.

Harrod’s has different owners now so it’s not Harrod’s being held to account.

Well, that is not the view of the barristers - or the current owners who are taking vicarious responsibility and settling claims.

No - when you buy a business, you buy its assets and liabilities. They may have insurance linked to the acquisition, but - unless the sellers indemnify something specifically - the owners would have to compensate eg someone who bought a faulty product before the business changed hands, and they also take on other issues such as employment related claims.

Re the met I think it's time we had a woman only force, I just don't trust them at all.

We know that two cases were referred to the CPS who decided not to prosecute as there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. One of these received press coverage at the time, with the CPS saying that conflicting evidence and the absence of sufficiently reliable accounts of crucial events meant he would not be charged - BBC NEWS | England | London | No sex charges for Harrods owner. I can't find any contemporaneous coverage related to the other offence.

The CPS say they were called in to advise the police on three other investigations, but none of these got as far as a file of evidence being passed to prosecutors for a decision.

It may be that the Met did not investigate properly and has questions to answer, but it isn't clear on the information currently available. It may be that they investigated properly and there really wasn't enough evidence to charge al Fayed.

Re the woman who claims her phone was loaded with evidence, we don't know the nature of the evidence and whether it would have been admissible in court, so there is no way of knowing whether there is any negligence or misconduct by the police involved. I certainly wouldn't rule out negligence or misconduct, but there isn't enough here to say anything definitive.