Sexual predator Mohamed Al Fayed spied on customers using the changing rooms at Harrods for decades, according to claims made by his former bodyguard.
Speaking in an explosive new book, the security man said there was a ‘good chance’ that shoppers using the facilities at the Knightsbridge store during his reign were being ‘watched’ by the serial rapist.
In the Monster of Harrods due to be released on Thursday, the bodyguard known only as Biggie said the store was awash with cameras which also recorded inside the female staff toilets and locker rooms.
‘People don’t talk about this – there were cameras right up to the entrance and slightly inside the changing rooms used by Harrods customers, which meant if you were in a Harrods changing room during the Fayed era, there was a good chance that he was watching you,’ Biggie revealed.
The installation of cameras, as well as bugging telephones, was said to have been ordered by the head of security ex-detective John Macnamara so Al Fayed could keep tabs on and seek out potential victims.
‘The guys looked at the screens as if their lives depended on it. But they also realised that many of the questions Macnamara asked were about females who had caught Fayed’s eye, so there was also a lot of sniggering as they watched women in changing rooms and toilets,’ said Biggie.
Biggie, who was described as 6ft 4in and 20st, was employed as one of the very first ‘generals’ in Al Fayed’s security detail after he purchased the iconic store in 1985.
Harrods, which was owned by Al Fayed for 25 years before he sold it in 2010, said last night: ‘Nothing in our records suggest cameras existed in any staff or customer areas where personal privacy would have been compromised.’
The disgraced tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed is said to have spied on staff and customers during his 25 year reign of terror at Harrods
Mohamed Al Fayed was said to have ordered his security team to flood the iconic store in Knightsbridge with video cameras and listening devices
A former bodyguard claims that shoppers using the changing rooms during Al Fayed’s ownership were likely to have been spied on by the disgraced tycoon
Alison Kervin, author of the book who interviewed 60 witnesses, survivors and former employees, claimed that around forty screens transmitted information from every inch of the store 24/7.
She said the cameras were ‘everywhere’ and meant that ‘working at Harrods was like living in the Truman Show’.
Another member of staff, known as ‘the Engineer’ because of his role in phone bugging, said there were ‘recording devices everywhere’ and everything that was transmitted was filed away.
‘I’d have to make sure they were working and we were picking up everything clearly…it was important that we did the recordings and kept everything properly filed,’ he is quoted as saying.
He said Al Fayed would sometimes demand to see a particular recording or listen in to what was said in a meeting room.
The man said that no one was ‘off limits’ and that he bugged everyone from financial directors and board members to chauffeurs and body guards.
Al Fayed, who died without facing justice aged 94 in 2023, was exposed as a prolific sex offender last year and more than 500 victims and witnesses have since come forward.
Emma Jones, a human rights lawyer for Leigh Day which represents a number of the victims, said the latest revelations highlighted the need for a public inquiry into how his offending was allowed to continue undeterred for decades.
‘The fact that there could be covert surveillance, CCTV or any kind of recording in areas such as toilets and changing rooms beggars’ belief and is truly shocking.
‘If true this would have serious and far-reaching ramifications in terms of breaching people’s right to privacy,’ she added.
The revelations are made in the explosive new book The Monster of Harrods (pictured) by Alison Kervin
Al Fayed, who died without facing justice aged 94 in 2023, was exposed as a prolific sex offender last year
Last week survivors handed a letter to Downing Street calling for an inquiry to examine claims of a cover up and allegations that the serial rapist was enabled by the iconic store and the police.
Scotland Yard previously revealed that it is investigating the role of at least five potential enablers who are alleged to have aided Al Fayed.
Harrods, which was sold to wealth fund Qatar Holdings, has previously said it is ‘appalled’ by allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed and have been investigating whether any current members of staff were involved.
The Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the secret, shameful history of a British institution published by HarperCollins goes sale on Thursday here.
