THE late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed targeted children – and over 100 victims of sexual abuse by him have now come forward so far, a lawyer has said.

US attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, said police failed to charge him after a complaint by a woman who was 14 when she was first approached by Fayed.

Allred told GB News: “We’re looking for justice for the victims of Mohamed Al Fayed. He’s not just a monster, he’s a sexual predator. He had a scheme, a plan, a design to recruit his targets that he wanted to sexually abuse.

“One was just shopping with their mother in Harrods when he saw her, 14 years old, and he went up to her, offered her employment at Harrods.

“She actually became employed when she was 15 years old. Yeah, a child, and then he sexually abused her at some point.

“Of course, the system failed her, because when she ultimately did report it to the police, there was no prosecution of Mohammed Al Fayed.

“He did what he did to many victims, to many he raped them or attempted to rape them. He also committed sexual battery on them, and he also committed acts and crimes of child sexual abuse to many minors.

“This is serious business and these victims, many of them did not come forward for many years.

“One because they were traumatised. Two, because they were terrorised by Mohamed Al Fayed, who threatened them and suggested, for example, to one victim, she’d never work in London again if she told anyone.

“He said to another, ‘I know where your family lives, and there will be consequences if you tell anyone what I did to you’.

“They were looking at a man who had great fame, wealth, power, and they didn’t know if they’d be believed if they told anyone, and of course, they were in fear. Now the fear has been replaced by courage, and I’m so proud of these victims.

“And as I said at the press conference today, courage is contagious, and these with women who’ve come forward, some publicly on television, and on the internet to tell their truth.

“Some still want their privacy, but they know they can find out what their rights are in the confidential, safe place of communication with a barrister, and that’s confidential under the law.

“Many of them have done that at the press conference. You know, our team said that 37 had retained the barristers with whom I did the press conference this morning.

“And now I’m understanding that there’s more than 100 who’ve contacted the legal team. We don’t know the ultimate number but my sense is, whatever it is today, it’s going to be larger tomorrow.”

“Of course, Mohamed Al Fayed, in a sense, bragged that he would never have to take responsibility for any of this and never did.

“But now his reputation, which he really valued when he was alive, is tarnished with the truth coming out, and they are speaking truth to power…”