More than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have come forward to lawyers over allegations of sexual misconduct against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group said its first letter of complaint had been sent to the London department store – calling it the “start of the formal legal process”.

The group said the majority of the 421 requests processed were “in the Harrods context”, but said others had contacted them from Fulham FC, the Ritz Hotel in Paris and elsewhere.

The Metropolitan Police have asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge the former owner of Harrods and Fulham FC over just two out of 21 women who came forward with allegations, including rape and sexual assault, between 2005 and 2023.

Evidence was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2009 and 2015, but it decided not to prosecute it because there was “no realistic prospect of a conviction”.

Speaking at a press conference in central London on Thursday, Dean Armstrong KC said: “To ensure that no one… is under any illusions about our determination, we are delighted to announce that we have achieved to an agreement on a major law. company which will be responsible for processing these complaints.

“The law firm has areas of expertise in this area and, so that no one is concerned about our ability to fight this case to the end, they are providing support of over £1 billion.

“Even more exciting, but very sad, that we have to do this is the fact that today we can announce that the first letter of complaint has been sent to Harrods.

“This is the start of the formal legal process.

“It will be followed today by another and it will be followed tomorrow by others, and it will be followed by hundreds more.

“If we are pushed, if our survivors are pushed, to have to defend ourselves to get justice, we are ready, we have the resources and we are determined.

“This statement of our intention is the clearest possible signal that it is time for Harrods, for the Fayed estate and for Fulham FC, among other sporting institutions, to understand that now is the time to do the right thing .”

Another member of the legal team, Bruce Drummond, said the first letter of claim related to an alleged victim, but added: “This is literally the first of hundreds to come – it’s going to snowball and snowball. »

The announcements follow a number of women who made allegations against Mr Al Fayed in a BBC documentary last month.

The BBC documentary, Al Fayed: Predator At Harrods, reported on allegations from five women who said they were raped by Mr Al Fayed, while a number of others alleged sexual misconduct.

Asked how many “enablers” of Mr Al Fayed’s alleged sexual misconduct had been identified by the group, lawyer Maria Mulla said: “It was a very large canvas.

“Some of them are still alive. It is not our place to name names or announce who these individuals are.”

Mr Al Fayed acquired Harrods for £615 million in 1985.

In 2010, after 26 years at the helm of the company, he sold the department store to the Qatari royal family for £1.5 billion.

Mr. Al Fayed died in 2023, aged 94.