Met Police apologises after the email addresses of Mohamed Al Fayed's victims were shared in data breach

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER and OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:39, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 15:39, 15 August 2026 The Metropolitan Police has apologised after the email addresses of Mohamed Al Fayed's victims were shared in a data breach.  The contact details of around 140 women who had accused the former Harrods owner of sexual abuse were accidentally disclosed in a monthly email update for victims.  The update on Tuesday, August 11, which had been sent to victims who chose to receive updates in the investigation into claims against Al Fayed, said three further suspects had been interviewed under caution.  But the force had not blind copied Al Fayed's accusers which meant they had become 'visible to others on the distribution list', a spokesman said.  The Met said it has referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which provides data protection guidance.  The force spokesman said: 'Due to human error, recipients' email addresses were visible to others on the distribution list. The issue was identified quickly and immediate action was taken. 'We understand the impact this may have on victims and sincerely apologise. Everyone affected was contacted directly on the day of the incident. 'The incident is being investigated as a matter of priority, and we are reviewing our processes to help prevent a similar breach from happening again.' Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, who died aged 94 in August 2023, has been accused of sexual abuse by dozens of women  Al Fayed was the father of Dodi Fayed, who died in the car crash that killed Princess Diana in Paris in 1997 Around 140 women are on the distribution list, it is understood. But the Met has previously said 154 women have made allegations connected to Al Fayed. It is not the first time the Met has mistakenly disclosed the personal details of an alleged victim of Al Fayed. Earlier this year, Joanna Brittan, who alleges that she was trafficked by Al Fayed and raped by one of his associates, discovered that the force had sent sensitive information about her to the wrong person. Ms Brittan gave a statement to Devon & Cornwall Police in 2017 which was later transferred to the Met. But handwritten notes detailing her account, along with her address, phone number and date of birth, were mistakenly sent to another alleged victim living in Australia. The number of suspects in the Met's investigation into allegations connected to Al Fayed has now reached seven after three women in their 40s, 50s and 60s and a man in his 60s were interviewed under caution in March. They were questioned on suspicion of aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault, assisting the commission of sexual offences and human trafficking for sexual exploitation.  The update email from police which revealed the email address of 140 victims said three suspects, in their 70s and 80s, were interviewed under caution by police.  Al Fayed has been accused of abusing around 400 women and girls between the late 1970s and early 2000s Al Fayed, who died in August 2023 aged 94, has been accused of abusing around 400 women and girls between the late 1970s and early 2000s. Many were young employees at his businesses, including Harrods, and some have said they reported concerns to police but were not taken seriously. It previously emerged that the Met was aware of sexual abuse allegations against the Egyptian businessman at least a decade earlier than the force had initially admitted. After allegations about Al Fayed emerged, Scotland Yard said it had been approached by 21 women over complaints dating back to 2005. But the family of Samantha-Jane Ramsay said she had contacted the Met about her ordeal in 1995, when she was just 17. Ms Ramsay said officers told her at the time that nothing could be done and that they would simply add her 'to a pile of other female names' who had complained about Al Fayed. Ms Ramsay, who died in a car crash in 2007 aged 28, had previously described how she was targeted by Al Fayed just five days after starting work at Harrods. She said the tycoon spotted her on the store's cameras and summoned her to his fifth-floor suite, where he offered her a £2,000 salary increase and a new role as an assistant manager in the designer clothes section. A fortnight later, Al Fayed offered to double her pay for a job at his Park Lane office, according to an account she gave to the News of the World in 1998. Ms Ramsay said Al Fayed told her she would have to undergo a medical examination and clean herself with Dettol before grabbing her face, kissing her and sexually touching her without consent. She fled his office in tears, later recalling: 'I was terrified.' When she confided in a supervisor, Ramsay said the response was 'another one'. She was then escorted into a conference room where Al Fayed sacked her. It comes after a woman employed by billionaire Al Fayed at his 'castle of horrors' Scottish estate spoke for the first time about how she was sexually assaulted by the former Harrods tycoon. The middle-aged mother, who we have named Katie, broke her silence about the ordeal she suffered at his hands – and said that she believed she was targeted because of her vulnerable background. Katie – the first woman who worked at Balnagown Castle in Ross-shire to come forward – said her horrific experiences have haunted her for the past three decades. Her testimony followed just weeks after The Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed that Police Scotland has reopened a probe into assault allegations first reported in 2021. Meanwhile, Harrods has bounced back into profit after setting aside £62.5million to compensate victims of its former owner. The £62.5million Harrods has set aside for compensation to victims of the sexual predator contributed to a net loss of £34.3million in the year to January 31, 2025. Harrods confirmed it has so far paid compensation to more than 100 survivors. But across the ensuing 12 months, to the end of January this year, the historic London department store reported a healthy pre-tax profit of £84.9million. Harrods had also grappled with tough trading conditions in the year to January 2025 but it was the compensation payments that drove its accounts into the red.