The Metropolitan Police was allegedly told of sexual misconduct accusations against Mohamed Al Fayed a decade earlier than the force initially acknowledged.
Samantha Jay-Ramsay’s family said she was harassed and sexually assaulted by Mr Al Fayed while she worked at his Knightsbridge department store, Harrods, at the age of 17, and reported his behaviour to the Met in 1995.
The force previously said the first allegations they were made aware of came in 2005, adding that Samantha’s case may not have been transferred onto a police record because some reports in 1995 were paper-based.
Samantha died in a car crash in 2007, aged 28.
The Met said it asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge former Harrods and Fulham FC owner Mr Al Fayed in relation to only two out of 21 women who made allegations, including of rape and sexual assault, between 2005 and 2023.
Evidence was shown to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to go ahead with either because there was not “a realistic prospect of conviction”.
Samantha’s mother Wendy Ramsay and sister Emma Willis have contacted solicitors firm Leigh Day to look at legal options, with the pair alleging that the Met refused to help her.
They have supported calls for a public inquiry into the alleged abuse by Mr Al Fayed.
Ms Willis said: “It really infuriates me that if the police had dealt with it properly back then her life would have been different.
“Back then she was one of the only people to have been brave enough to go to the police and if they had dealt with it properly how many women could have been saved from his abuse?”
She continued: “We know 100% my sister would’ve been speaking out if she was here.
“No one believed her or did anything about it and that’s enough to make anyone go crazy.
“She reported what happened to her 30 years ago and he was allowed to continue for another 20 years. That must have played on her mind.
“I do hold Al Fayed responsible. I really believe if it hadn’t happened to her then her life would have been different.
“This happened just as she was turning into an adult, this isn’t what she should have been dealing with going into adulthood.
“She did all the right things to try and blow the whistle and had the bravery and courage to try to hold Al Fayed accountable but no one was interested, no one would help her.
“I don’t think Sam would have had the skills to process what happened her at that age.”
Samantha previously told the News Of The World newspaper in 1998 that Mr Al Fayed said she would need to have a medical and told her: “I like you to be clean. I hope you use Dettol, it’s the best”.
She then alleged he gripped her face, kissed her and touched her inappropriately before handing her £200.
Samantha said one of Mr Al Fayed’s personal assistants berated her for making a complaint, before the ex-Harrods owner allegedly shouted at her and fired her.
Her mother went to police in Gosport, Hampshire, who passed the complaint on to the Met but the family said nothing came of it.
Emma Jones, partner at Leigh Day who specialises in public inquiries, said: “The fact that her report to the police does not appear to be included in the 21 reports against Al Fayed that they have confirmed to the media, and indeed pre-dates those by a decade, raises even more questions about the actions of the police in this matter and further strengthens the calls for a statutory public inquiry.
“As Sam’s family have said, it also raises questions about how many women could have been saved from abuse if Sam’s complaints had been taken seriously and handled properly 30 years ago.”
Commander Stephen Clayman, from the Met, said: “While we cannot change what has happened, we do acknowledge that trust and confidence is affected by our approach in the past and we are determined to do better.
“We have made significant changes and progress to deliver better outcomes for victims.”
Mr Al Fayed acquired Harrods for £615 million in 1985 and after 26 years in charge sold it to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5 billion in 2010.
He died in 2023, aged 94.
