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Monday, Aug 03, 2026
Outside the box.
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
At least five women who say they were abused by Mohamed Al Fayed have received formal recognition as victims of modern slavery, adding official weight to the trafficking dimension of the wider investigation.
The Home Office has formally recognised at least five women who say they were abused by Mohamed Al Fayed as victims of modern slavery, a series of decisions that places human trafficking at the centre of the case against the late former Harrods owner.
Each woman received a positive conclusive-grounds decision through the National Referral Mechanism, the United Kingdom’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery.
Such a finding formally recognises that an individual was a victim of exploitation or trafficking; it is not a criminal conviction and does not determine the legal liability of any other person.
Rachel Louw, who has waived her right to anonymity, became the first publicly known survivor to receive the finding in April.
The Home Office concluded that she had been subjected to sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom and France over three years by Al Fayed and his brother, Salah.
She described the decision as "vindication and validation."
Since then, four members of the survivor advocacy group No One Above have received the same recognition after referrals by the anti-slavery charity Unseen.
The cases include international and domestic trafficking, and one finding concerns trafficking that took place entirely within Harrods.
The accounts describe different routes into exploitation.
One woman was recruited for a false role at Harrods.
Two others held legitimate jobs at the store before they say they were selected for abuse from the shop floor.
Another was employed as a domestic worker for the Fayed family after being recruited through a letting agency.
The decisions matter because trafficking under British law is not confined to movement across international borders.
It can include arranging or facilitating a person’s travel within the United Kingdom for the purpose of exploitation.
Survivors and legal specialists have argued that this distinction is essential to understanding allegations that recruitment, employment and travel were used as part of a wider system.
Al Fayed owned Harrods from 1985 until 2010 and died in 2023, aged ninety-four, without facing criminal charges.
Hundreds of women have alleged rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Several women have also accused Salah Al Fayed, who died in 2010, of abuse.
The Metropolitan Police investigation, Operation Cornpoppy, is examining whether other people facilitated or enabled alleged offending by Al Fayed.
The inquiry now includes human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In March, detectives said four people had been interviewed under caution: three women and one man.
No arrests were announced.
Police said one hundred and fifty-four people had come forward with allegations of sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The conclusive-grounds decisions do not conclude the criminal investigation, but they establish an official recognition that trafficking was part of at least five survivors’ experiences as Operation Cornpoppy continues.
Each woman received a positive conclusive-grounds decision through the National Referral Mechanism, the United Kingdom’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery.
Such a finding formally recognises that an individual was a victim of exploitation or trafficking; it is not a criminal conviction and does not determine the legal liability of any other person.
Rachel Louw, who has waived her right to anonymity, became the first publicly known survivor to receive the finding in April.
The Home Office concluded that she had been subjected to sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom and France over three years by Al Fayed and his brother, Salah.
She described the decision as "vindication and validation."
Since then, four members of the survivor advocacy group No One Above have received the same recognition after referrals by the anti-slavery charity Unseen.
The cases include international and domestic trafficking, and one finding concerns trafficking that took place entirely within Harrods.
The accounts describe different routes into exploitation.
One woman was recruited for a false role at Harrods.
Two others held legitimate jobs at the store before they say they were selected for abuse from the shop floor.
Another was employed as a domestic worker for the Fayed family after being recruited through a letting agency.
The decisions matter because trafficking under British law is not confined to movement across international borders.
It can include arranging or facilitating a person’s travel within the United Kingdom for the purpose of exploitation.
Survivors and legal specialists have argued that this distinction is essential to understanding allegations that recruitment, employment and travel were used as part of a wider system.
Al Fayed owned Harrods from 1985 until 2010 and died in 2023, aged ninety-four, without facing criminal charges.
Hundreds of women have alleged rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Several women have also accused Salah Al Fayed, who died in 2010, of abuse.
The Metropolitan Police investigation, Operation Cornpoppy, is examining whether other people facilitated or enabled alleged offending by Al Fayed.
The inquiry now includes human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In March, detectives said four people had been interviewed under caution: three women and one man.
No arrests were announced.
Police said one hundred and fifty-four people had come forward with allegations of sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The conclusive-grounds decisions do not conclude the criminal investigation, but they establish an official recognition that trafficking was part of at least five survivors’ experiences as Operation Cornpoppy continues.
