Â鶹ӰÊÓ

World

    • Over 400 alleged victims of ex-Harrods boss Al Fayed come forward

    Share

    More than 400 alleged victims have so far contacted the legal team working on a case against the late Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, who has been accused of sexual abuse and rape, lawyer Dean Armstrong said on Thursday.

    A BBC documentary in September revealed Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, sexually abused female staff at his London department store Harrods, forced them to have medical screenings and threatened consequences if they tried to complain.

    "The sheer scale of abuse perpetrated by Al Fayed, and facilitated by those around him, sadly, continues to grow," Armstrong told a news conference in London.

    Al Fayed always denied similar accusations raised by other reports before his death. Harrods did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment about the lawyer's comments.

    The store has apologized, said it was "appalled" by the allegations, and launched a process for any current or former Harrods employees who wish to claim compensation.

    Another lawyer, Bruce Drummond, said the more than 400 claims have been made by women from around the world, mostly from Britain but also from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa and other countries.

    Bruce Drummond, background left, Dean Armstrong, center, and Maria Mulla who are representing the Harrods Survivors group hold a press conference. (Alberto Pezzali / The Associated Press)

    "That, in our opinion, is an industrial scale abuse," Drummond said, adding abuse took place "within the walls of Harrods" but also in other locations linked to Al Fayed's business empire, such as Fulham Football Club, the Ritz Paris and his estate in Surrey.

    Victims include the daughter of a former U.S. ambassador to Britain and the daughter of a well-known soccer player, Drummond said, without giving any names.

    The BBC documentary said Harrods had failed to intervene and helped to cover up abuse allegations during his ownership.

    Lawyers have criticized the Harrods-run compensation scheme, saying some of the victims do not feel comfortable to reach out to Harrods directly for compensation as that is where the abuse unfolded.

    FILE - Egyptian businessman and Ritz hotel owner Mohamed Al-Fayed poses with his hotel staff in Paris, June 27, 2016. (Kamil Zihnioglu, The Associated Press)

    Drummond said some senior members of staff from the Al Fayed era still worked at Harrods.

    The Financial Times last week reported that four alleged victims had quit the Harrods compensation scheme due to their concerns over potential conflicts of interest and poor communication.

    Several media organizations had reported allegations of sexual abuse against Al Fayed before the BBC documentary, including Vanity Fair in 1995, ITV in 1997 and Channel 4 in 2017. Lawyers said in September many of the women only felt able to speak publicly in the BBC report after he died last year.

    Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Alison Williams

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Toronto police say 59 suspects are facing a total of 300 charges in connection with an auto theft and re-vinning probe.

    An Ontario woman is facing serious charges after police allege she pretended to be a registered nurse at several Simcoe County facilities, despite being unqualified.

    New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone's all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai for a climate conference last December violated the city's Code of Conduct for Council Members and the Community Charter, the city's ethics commissioner has ruled.

    An Edmonton Police Service officer was caught on camera running over a woman with a marked cruiser last month.

    A landlord from B.C.’s Lower Mainland who evicted a longtime tenant only to rent out the same unit months later for more money has been ordered to compensate him $16,480.

    Canada

    • Someone spray-painted graffiti onto the home of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim on Halloween – marking the latest in a string of incidents targeting the property this year.

    • Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is slamming the province's plan to unilaterally remove bike lanes along some of the city's major streets, calling it 'arbitrary' while warning that it could ultimately make congestion worse.

    • Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.

    • An appeal has been denied to extend the sentence of an Ontario trucker who killed a woman in his Edmonton hotel room in 2011.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • An Ontario woman is facing serious charges after police allege she pretended to be a registered nurse at several Simcoe County facilities, despite being unqualified.

    • A measles outbreak has been declared in New Brunswick’s Zone 3, which includes Fredericton and the upper Saint John River Valley.

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    A Windsor teen’s social media post showing off a distinctive Windsor pizza topping has gone viral, drawing millions of views worldwide and sparking new curiosity about Windsor-style pizza.

    Auston Matthews has come face to face with his look-alike. On Thursday, the Maple Leafs star met seven-year-old Grayson Joseph, who went viral for dressing up as an Auston Matthews hockey card.

    A Halifax junk remover shares some of his company’s strangest discoveries.

    When Leah arrived at work directing traffic around a construction site, she never expected to see a van painted in all sorts of bright colours, and covered in eclectic decorations, including a stuffed moose attached to its roof.

    After 14 years of repairing and selling bicycles out of the garage of her home, a Guelph, Ont. woman’s efforts have ended – for now, at least.

    Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

    Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.

    New Brunswicker Jillea Godin’s elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

    A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

    • A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.

    • A Vancouver Island woman who refused to accept her daughter died of an accidental overdose is relieved the record has been set straight.

    • When 82-year-old Jane Whitehouse failed to pick up her young grandson as scheduled last Friday, her family knew something was wrong.

    • One person has been taken to the hospital following a shooting in North York Friday night.

    • Two people are in life-threatening condition while a third person is in critical condition following a collision in Mississauga, Peel paramedics say.

    • Two people are in custody after an alleged stolen pickup truck struck a police horse and rammed into three cruisers before crashing into a downtown Toronto store Friday afternoon.

    • A Calgary councillor wants the city to protect drivers from tow truck companies that are "preying" on drivers on scene of car crashes.

    • A CN train derailed near Beiseker, Alta., on Friday morning.

    • The Calgary Real Estate Board says October home sales were mostly flat compared with last year's levels, but remained around one-quarter higher than long-term trends for the month.

    • EXCLUSIVE

      EXCLUSIVE

      Internal documents show the National Capital Commission took what it called a 'manageable risk' to lower the standard for what qualifies as thick enough ice in order to squeeze a few more skating days into the Rideau Canal Skateway season.

    • Ottawa firefighters have contained a fire at a seniors' home in Richmond.

    • The switch to standard time occurs at 2 a.m. on Sunday, with clocks moving back one hour. The end of daylight saving time means it will get darker earlier in the evening, with sunset before 5 p.m. starting on Sunday.

    • Thanks to a private donation, the Old Brewery Mission renovated all its shelters to have semi-private rooms.

    • One of Montreal's best-known painters died this week at the age of 96 -- John Little captured the city's working-class neighbourhoods and highlighted an architecture that is fast disappearing.

    • A new second-hand store just opened at Quartier DIX30 on Montreal's South Shore where shoppers can find coats, kids' shoes, home decor, and even a Louis Vitton bag.

    • The government of Alberta says its new bill aimed at women's sporting divisions is about inclusion, but advocates don't agree.

    • An Edmonton Police Service officer was caught on camera running over a woman with a marked cruiser last month.

    • An appeal has been denied to extend the sentence of an Ontario trucker who killed a woman in his Edmonton hotel room in 2011.

    • Nova Scotia's premier is apologizing after a court criticized his government for what it calls a flawed, discriminatory and unfair process that led to two women being rejected for coverage of out-of-province treatments.

    • Montreal-based company Westcliff Management, a privately owned real estate development and management company, officially own Dieppe’s Champlain Place Mall as of Halloween.

    • The RCMP in Yarmouth, N.S., is investigating the sudden deaths of two people known to each other.

    • Manitoba RCMP are looking for more information after the remains of an infant were identified.

    • Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is not making any commitments on possible new municipal taxes in Winnipeg.

    • A 25-year-old man has been charged with multiple offences after he allegedly shot another man with a shotgun during a dispute at a North End home last month.

    • Advance polling stations for the Regina civic election opened Friday morning.

    • Swift Current RCMP are looking for two men after a 'serious assault' in the city early Tuesday morning.

    • A local makeup artist and business owner is bringing the runway experience back to Regina this weekend five years after the end of Saskatchewan Fashion Week.

    • Erick Buhr has asked the jury to find him not guilty in his grandmother Viola Erb’s death.

    • Waterloo Regional Police are putting out a stern reminder about fireworks safety after a concerning display in Breslau.

    • Waterloo Regional Police say charges are anticipated after a tow truck operator was seriously injured helping a disabled vehicle on the side of Trussler Road in North Dumfries Friday afternoon.

    • The family of a man shot and seriously injured at a jobsite 14 kilometres north of Prince Albert late last week is speaking out.

    • Soon, Saskatoon residents will know who of the five candidates will take the reins as mayor, and who will join the new mayor at City Hall for the next term.

    • SaskPower has been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating workplace safety rules, but the victim won't receive any of the money.

    • With the surging number of homeless encampments in Ontario cities, Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre has joined other big city mayors in asking the province to back them up when they try and prohibit encampments.

    • Two males, including one young offender, were arrested Thursday evening after a shooting at a grocery store on Notre Dame Avenue in Sudbury.

    • Police in northern Ontario say a razor blade was found in a child's candy on Halloween night.

    • Already sentenced to spend a life in prison for committing two London murders, William McDonald, 34, continued to add to his already lengthy criminal record while behind bars at Collins Bay Penitentiary.

    • The London Fire Department said a blaze that destroyed a south London townhouse Friday killed a dog left home alone.

    • Since August 2023, detectives from the Niagara Regional Police Service have been investigating an allegation of sexual assault by a man against a 15-year-old girl.

    • An Ontario woman is facing serious charges after police allege she pretended to be a registered nurse at several Simcoe County facilities, despite being unqualified.

    • Christina and Troy Durocher are still struggling to come to terms with how the justice system handled the death of their son two and a half years ago.

    • While online shopping has become a multi-trillion-dollar worldwide industry, a new online marketplace launched in Simcoe County in recent weeks is making it easier and more affordable to keep e-commerce local.

    • A Windsor man is on trial for attempting to join a terrorist organization known as the Atomwaffen Division (AWD).

    • An Essex couple said they are unhappy with the town over a curb that was installed at the end of their driveway.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      Windsor police have charged a 25-year-old man with first-degree murder in the death of a 69-year-old man in south-central Windsor.

    • A Vancouver Island woman who refused to accept her daughter died of an accidental overdose is relieved the record has been set straight.

    • Police on southern Vancouver Island are issuing a warning about the dangers of deer rutting season after a dog was gored to death by a buck earlier this week.

    • A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted an order to establish a buffer zone around one of the province's largest Sikh temples this Saturday in advance of expected confrontations between protesters and Indian consular officials.

    • Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • Lethbridge County and the towns of Coalhurst, Nobleford and Picture Butte and the village of Barons have signed a new regional emergency management partnership agreement.

    • As overnight temperatures continue to dip below freezing, the City of Lethbridge has launched its second annual snow route season ahead of winter.

    • The University of Lethbridge Pronghorn Athletics Annual Safe Ride Home campaign is making a return this year, but with a new name.

    • More than half of Ontario's 480 wildfires last summer were in northeastern Ontario, according to new data from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

    • A 40-year-old suspect has been charged with sexual assault following an incident Wednesday in Sault Ste. Marie.

    • Juanita Migwans – or 'Winnie,' as her family calls her – of M'Chigeeng First Nation has been missing for almost a month.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹ӰÊÓ. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹ӰÊÓ