She says Al Fayed wanted her to work in his office as one of his personal assistants and gave her £800 in cash to buy work clothes.

Late Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed owned Harrods from 1985 to 2010. He was allegedly one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders. Source: Channel 4

That year, in 2005, Rebecca started working as a PA in Al Fayed’s office, mostly shadowing other PAs, and says she was never tasked with anything of substance. Until one day, she was asked to deliver a package to Al Fayed at his apartment in one of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods, Mayfair.

She says soon Al Fayed was on top of her, raping her, as she asked him to stop.

She is alleged to have used her senior position at Harrods from 2004 to recruit young women for Al Fayed. She left the company in 2013, three years after Al Fayed sold it to new owners.

Survivors, and some former Harrods staff, say Kelly Walker-Duncalf used her senior position at Harrods to recruit young women for Al Fayed. Source: Channel 4

Barrister Dean Armstrong is representing some of the survivors.

Through her lawyer, Walker-Duncalf said that she did not, at any stage, “facilitate” or “enable” any of Al Fayed’s crimes.

Who is Kelly Walker-Duncalf?

According to her CV, Walker-Duncalf joined the Harrods shopfloor in 1997. She worked her way up to becoming the head of store approvals, the department that vetted new recruits, in 2004. Former employees allege that she used her position to scout for young women for Al Fayed for sexual purposes.

Anne-Marie, who now lives in Australia, says Walker-Duncalf would take Polaroid photos of some candidates, pin them on a board, and regularly take the photos up to Al Fayed.

Anne-Marie worked at the Harrods’ store approvals department with Walker-Duncalf. Source: Channel 4

“She was the second most important person in Harrods. She may not have had the power on paper, but she had a degree of power that nobody else in the store had.”

One day, her turn came to meet the chairman in person. She says the first time he sexually assaulted her he kissed her on the mouth, and on one occasion tried to rape her.

Former staff say that during Al Fayed’s ownership of Harrods, high-level security and surveillance created a climate of fear at the company, protecting not only him but Walker-Duncalf too.

Police response

Walker-Duncalf told her that Al Fayed was looking for a PA, and the two women drove to his office. Francesca says he raped her the evening they met. She went to the police the next morning.

Francesca was 20 when she was introduced to Al Fayed by Walker-Duncalf. She reported being raped by the former Harrods owner to the police but later withdrew her complaint. Source: Channel 4

As the police investigated her allegations and ran medical examinations, Francesca felt ashamed and terrified that he or his people would come after her.

“In this case, the prosecutors who looked at the files of evidence concluded there was no realistic prospect of conviction and no charges were brought,” the statement read. “We are determined to secure justice in as many rape and serious sexual offences as possible.

A former colleague says Walker-Duncalf would take photos of some candidates, pin them on a board, and regularly take the photos up to Al Fayed. Source: Channel 4

London’s Metropolitan Police now admits that between 2005 and 2023, it received 21 reports of sexual abuse against Al Fayed, but no charges were ever brought. Police now believe that number to be more than 100.