Fayed assaulted me at 16, says Gascoigne's daughter

Bianca Gascoigne, the model and daughter of former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, has alleged that Mohamed al-Fayed groomed and sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager working at Harrods.

- TARA COBHAM

Becoming the latest high-profile figure to speak out about her experiences with the Egyptian businessman, she said a “charming” Fayed would bring her and her parents gifts when she would visit the luxury department store in central London growing up.

The 37-year-old said this meant she felt “safe” in his presence by the time she began working for the Knightsbridge store aged 16. However, she claimed Fayed, who died last year aged 94, went on to grope her and force her to kiss him in their weekly meetings, leaving her feeling trapped and frightened.

Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Ms Gascoigne told Sky News of a night when Fayed offered her the Harrods Park Lane apartment to stay in ahead of a flight.

She said: “[Fayed] turned up at the apartment to my shock, I was just gobsmacked, I was kind of very shell-shocked, I just didn't really know what to do. He came in, and then he sat me down on the sofa ... he got his privates out and got my hands and was trying to manoeuvre them on his parts.

“When that didn’t work he was trying to force my head onto his lap. And I don’t know how but I managed to wiggle away. And I think possibly you know, that him knowing my parents ... I don’t know, that might have saved me at that moment. But it was horrific.”

Fayed faced accusations of sexual misconduct for decades. Since the release of a BBC investigation last month, the Metropolitan Police said it has been contacted by 60 people reporting their experiences with Fayed. This is in addition to the 21 women who previously made allegations against the businessman, including rape and sexual assault, between 2005 and 2023.