A WOMAN hunted by Mohamed Fayed has told how the sex beast tried to rape her in a flat owned by his son Dodi.
Another former Harrods worker revealed he threw a lobster at her in front of Ashley and Cheryl Cole – because she didn’t talk enough during dinner on his yacht.
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Brave Katherine, Lindsay and Gemma have come forward to reveal their horrific experiences working for sexual predator Mohamed FayedCredit: PA
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The billionaire, who died aged 94, was the owner of Harrods. Credit: Rex
And a third woman told how the late tycoon repeatedly tore the buttons off her blouse before she was fired at the end of her probationary period after she managed to fend off his attacks.
Lindsay Mason, who was 20 when she was hired to work at Harrods as an assistant to Fayed, bravely told The Sun how she fought him in Dodi’s luxury suite in Paris in 1989.
She said she was subjected to “very invasive medicine” when she accepted the job.
Lindsay said: “I started working at Harrods and the grooming started at the end of the first week.
“Within a few days he started touching my hair, touching my face and the grooming continued.
“I ran away from 60 Park Lane (his address in Mayfair) where he attacked me because someone turned up.”
For the trip to Paris, Lindsay joined Fayed, co-star TV presenter Selina Scott, fashion designer Jeff Banks and the late Australian comedian Barry Humphries on a private jet.
There is no indication that any of the stars knew of Fayed’s motives or that Lindsay was in danger.
She said Fayed gave her money to go shopping and made her and her colleague parade their clothes in a “fashion show” for his guests at his flat at Windsor Castle.
Lindsay and her colleague dined with Fayed at the Ritz before she was taken to Dodi’s apartment where he attempted to rape her.
Mohamed Al Fayed accused of raping five women, including a teenage girl, and one says he ordered her to wash herself with Dettol after the attack
Lindsay said: “He tried to rape me.
“He was very violent, he invited me for a drink.
“The insurance company said they wanted to see me for a drink, together with another colleague, in the salon.
“When I got there, she wasn’t there.
“I sat farthest from him, and he got up to have a drink, came and sat right next to me.
“Within seconds he just rolled over and it was a continuous sexual assault and attempted rape and I managed to kick him.
“I ran and barricaded myself in my bedroom and slept on the floor with my back to the door so I could feel if he came in.
“The next morning I think I drank something.
“I guess I was drugged because I don’t remember after leaving the bedroom and going back to Harrods — where I was falsely imprisoned in the management offices.
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Dodi pictured with Princess Diana in St Tropez in July 1997 Credit: MaxPPP
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Gemma revealed that Fayed once threw a lobster at her in front of Ashley and Cheryl ColeCredit: Rex Features
“I tried to talk to my colleague and I tried to tell her that he tried to rape me the night before.
“I thought that since he tried to rape me, drug me and potentially traffic me, ‘this is not going to end well.’
“I was in fear for my life, so I pretended to have stomach problems and they let me out.
“Luckily, a very high-profile person turned up and all the security was on it, so I ran for my life.”
Lindsay said she met Dodi, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 with Princess Diana, at Harrods.
I was in a panic and blocked my door with a chair and a suitcase
Katherine
She said she wasn’t sure if he knew what his father was doing, but that he was also “manipulated.”
Gemma, 42, was hired as Fayed’s senior assistant when she was 24.
She was at Harrods from 2007 to 2009 and suffered persistent harassment, groping and belittling by Fayed.
Gemma also told how he humiliated her on his yacht Sokar, tied to Monaco.
She said: “I had a lobster thrown at me in front of Ashley and Cheryl Cole.
“He threw it across the table and said ‘why don’t you speak?’
“Nobody said anything and continued as if nothing had happened.
“Another time I remember getting off the yacht in St Tropez and he said to me in front of people, ‘Carry my bag, you fucking ass.’
“It was part of his humiliation game.
“It was a matter of power.
“It would depend on how willing you were with him.
“If you rejected his courtship that morning, you knew you were in for a difficult afternoon.
“But if he managed to feel it and you didn’t run away from him, you would have received gifts like bottles of perfume, cashmere scarves.
“He would constantly threaten you and say ‘if you’re not good with me, you’re in trouble.’
“You would expect to get fired or something.
“Protectors witnessed almost everything except sexual assaults behind closed doors.
“Once I went to them for help saying he tried to get into my room on the yacht.
“They gave me sticks and a cloth and said ‘wrap the sticks in a cloth and fasten them to the door and that will stop him from coming in’.”
A damaged store may not recover
By Ashley Armstrong, Business Editor
HARRODS has survived world wars, two bombings and a fire — but now its fortunes could be tarnished forever.
There are concerns that wealthy shoppers may not want to be seen carrying the distinctive green and gold bags after the posh store admitted it failed to protect staff from predator Mohamed Fayed.
Retail consultant Mary Portas told The Sun: “The rumors were rife and he was a terror. I hope the store is not affected, but those who surrounded and suppressed this are responsible.”
Harrods is having trouble drawing a line under its former owner as echoes of Fayed remain literally everywhere in the store.
His screaming Egyptian escalator, opened in 1997, still dominates the Knightsbridge department store from the ground floor to the fifth floor.
Fayed’s former lieutenant Michael Ward has been managing director since 2005 — five years before his boss sold out for £1.5 billion to the Qatari royal family.
Despite his sincere apology to staff, it might be understandable that the Qataris would want a change of face.
Accounts this month revealed the Qataris handed themselves a dividend of £180m last year, despite a 35 per cent drop in profits to £111.5m due to pension changes.
In a sign of its attractiveness, sales rose 8.2 per cent to £1bn last year, while other luxury stores such as Harvey Nichols struggled.
Gemma took the advice after Fayed took the key to her room.
She added: “I did it and it worked.
“He tried to get in and failed.”
In 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service — then led by current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer — decided not to charge Fayed with the alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl.
Gemma was called into the Harrods office to speak to the police and was told by bosses to say how good the chairman had been to her.
I got thrown a lobster in front of Ashley and Cheryl Cole
Gemma
She said: “They made me sit next to a Harrods solicitor.
“He was almost pushing me in the leg and telling me what to say.
“I was scared for my safety and what I was going through.”
Katherine, now 51, was hired as a senior assistant in 2005.
She said: “From day one I had to wear a smart black suit.
“He said ‘this is not going to work’.
“Then he said ‘this is distracting’ to my chest and tore my buttons.
“Then he sent me with a bunch of money to buy suits at Zara or H+Mu.
“I cried because I was so humiliated.
“The next day I came in a new black suit and the same thing happened.
“It happened every day for a week.
“I had no one to talk to and I thought, ‘I’m sure they know about this experience.’
“Then I went to Paris with him and luckily there was another PA there.
“When I went to sleep that night, there was no lock on the door.
“I was in a panic and I blocked my door with a chair and a suitcase.
“The next day he came straight to my face and said ‘never block the door in my house again — am I clear’.”
“He tried it and I’m very grateful that I did, especially after hearing the stories of other women.
“I fought him in London when he tried to attack me in the office.
“The next day my desk was gone.
“It was the last day of my probationary period and HR said that although my work was great, I didn’t connect with him personally. And that was my last day.”
Gemma said: “I hope that in the future women will be able to go to work without feeling afraid.
“Even though he’s dead, we’re dealing with one of the most powerful businessmen in the world.”
THE CASE OF ‘A KEIR MISS’
Jack Elsom, Chief Political Correspondent
SIR Keir Starmer has been embroiled in the Fayed scandal after prosecutors failed to press charges while they were tracking him.
The prime minister was the director of the state attorney’s office in 2009 when it was decided not to bring the tycoon to court.
He was questioned under caution a year earlier after a girl, 15, alleged he sexually assaulted her in Harrods. A No 10 source said yesterday: “Keir did not handle this case. It didn’t cross his desk.”
But Dai Davies, the former head of Royal Protection, said: “I’d be surprised if someone didn’t tip him.”
Shadow crime minister Matt Vickers added: “Starmer is always ready to take credit for other people’s work in the CPS, but whenever something has gone wrong under his watch, it has been someone else’s fault.
“These findings show that this was another example of failure.”
The CPS said in 2009 that it would not charge Fayed because there was no realistic prospect of a conviction.
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