Mohamed Al Fayed’s son has expressed outrage over allegations that his father raped five young women, claiming they are part of a BBC plot to divert attention from Huw Edwards. He described the accusations as “outrageous.”
Omar Al Fayed, 36, has told friends he believes the BBC released its documentary, Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, to distract from the scandal involving TV presenter Huw Edwards and allegations of child pornography.
Environmentalist and publisher Omar Al Fayed stated to a friend that he believes the BBC had the documentary ready to release, saying, “I think the Beeb have had this up their back pocket.” He added that its timing coincided with Huw Edwards being effectively let off the hook for “the most disgusting conduct.” On Monday, Edwards, 63, received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting to making indecent images of children.
A woman who was sexually assaulted by Mohamed Al Fayed in the 1990s criticized Omar for comparing his father to Huw Edwards, calling it “disgusting and absurd.” She stated that Fayed’s “appalling abuse was on a vast scale” and praised the BBC for exposing it.
Omar, the youngest of Fayed’s four children with Finnish model Heini Wathen, acknowledged his father’s “old-school chauvinist” tendencies, likening him to an “older version of Donald Trump,” but maintained that the rape allegations were “completely outrageous.” Another family member remarked that the family has faced press scrutiny for decades, noting that public opinion varies widely.
“They could never get to him [Mohamed] when he was alive.”
