Harrods to remove statues of disgraced former owner Mohamed Al Fayed

Harrods, the high-end London department store, has applied to local authorities for permission to remove sculptures of disgraced former owner Mohamed Al Fayed from its interior.

The renowned business, which started life as a grocery store in 1849, has submitted detailed plans to overhaul its Egyptian-themed hall and a five-floor escalator, which currently features busts of Al Fayed depicted as a pharaoh.

In a BBC documentary last year, more than 20 female former Harrods employees accused the Egyptian billionaire, who died in 2023 aged 94, of sexually assaulting them.

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A police investigation into Al Fayed, opened in the wake of the documentary, is still ongoing. London's Metropolitan Police told CNN on Thursday that the force is currently investigating the claims of more than 140 alleged victims.

One said in the BBC documentary that she had been assaulted when she was 15 and Al Fayed 79.

The alleged assaults are said to have taken place at a wide range of locations, including Al Fayed's luxury apartment building in London, the Ritz hotel in Paris, which he owned, and Villa Windsor, the Parisian mansion that he rented and which was previously the longtime residence of the abdicated British monarch Edward VIII and his American wife Wallis Simpson.

The store has been settling claims by current and former employees and now hopes to further erase Al Fayed's mark on the business.

The detailed application to the Kensington and Chelsea council in London says "the Egyptian Escalator explicitly celebrates Mr Al Fayed, including sixteen huge sculptures of his face."

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Harrods, which Al Fayed sold to Qatar Investment Authority in 2010, has strenuously distanced itself from its former owner.

A statement responding to the allegations, which remains live on the Harrods website, describes its current owners as "utterly appalled" and states that it is a "very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010."

According to the submission, Al Fayed, who was born in Alexandria, drew on his Egyptian heritage in renovating the department store he purchased in 1985. There are 16 giant female heads on alternate levels of the escalator based on a portrait bust of Nefertiti, while the male heads depict his image.

The application says "obituaries, while referring to his extraordinary business career, characterised him as a liar, a fantasist and an aggressive sexual predator."

It adds: "The sexual abuse allegations finally destroyed Mr Al Fayed's reputation, and the very large portrait busts of him on the Egyptian Escalator are now a visual reminder of his misdeeds."

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A spokesperson for Harrods confirmed the plans to CNN and said: "Since change of ownership in 2010, Harrods has invested heavily to return the store to its heritage while balancing the needs of modern retail to better serve our customers.

"Harrods is a Grade II listed (protected) building and so any proposed changes in store require considered plans, lengthy assessments, and close work with a number of relevant authorities.

"Having heard feedback from survivors, we have been working to expedite the proposed redevelopment project of the Egyptian escalators, and a planning and listed building consent application has now been submitted."

A decision on the application is due on October 22.