At least five survivors of abuse by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been formally confirmed by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking, following a "conclusive grounds" decision under the government's modern slavery framework. The confirmation follows calls from a group of survivors for the Metropolitan Police to make trafficking a central focus of its ongoing inquiry, arguing that Fayed's associates must have helped supply him with victims. It marks a significant step for those affected, giving official recognition to claims that the abuse was enabled by a wider system rather than the actions of one man alone.

The five victims were subjected to both international and domestic trafficking, with some recruited into fake roles at Harrods and others hired legitimately before being singled out from the shop floor for abuse; the cases span from the 1990s to after the store's 2010 sale. The Metropolitan Police's investigation, Operation Cornpoppy, has questioned four people in 21 months and is examining who facilitated Fayed's crimes across his business empire, including Harrods, the Ritz Paris, his yachts and properties in France, Monaco, the US and UAE. More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct, including rape and forced abortions, have been made against Fayed covering 1977 to 2014; he died in 2023 aged 94 without facing charges, and the police watchdog is separately reviewing the force's handling of complaints from 2018 to 2024.