Met Police knew about Mohamed Al Fayed sex abuse allegations decade earlier than previously said

The Metropolitan Police previously claimed that the earliest it had received a report about allegations of serial rape and sexual abuse by Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed was in 2005

The Met Police knew about Mohamed Al Fayed sex abuse claims a decade earlier than previously said, it emerged.

Samantha Ramsay’s family said she reported him in 1995 after he allegedly groped her in Harrods when she was 17. The force has claimed the first report came in 2005.

Samantha’s sister Emma Wills said: “She did all the right things to try to blow the whistle and had the bravery and courage to try to hold Al Fayed accountable but no one was interested, no one would help her.”

Samantha died in a car crash in 2007 aged 28. But Emma believes she may still be alive if her claims had been listened to.

She added: “There has always been a niggling feeling that it wasn’t an accident because she had made [an] attempt on her life before. I do hold Al Fayed responsible. I really believe if it hadn’t happened to her then her life would have been different. This happened just as she was turning into an adult, this isn’t what she should have been dealing with.”

The Met said there is no history of Samantha’s report on computer systems, but it could have been lost when paperwork became digital files in the 90s.

It is under pressure after the BBC documentary on Al Fayed’s alleged crimes claimed officers failed to act on accusations. There are also claims officers took bribes off the late tycoon.

Central Specialist Crime Commander Stephen Clayman said: “While we cannot change what happened, we acknowledge trust and confidence is affected by our approach in the past and we are determined to do better.”