'Isolation, phone bugging, no time on your own': Former Harrods employee accuses al Fayed brothers of assaulting her

A former Harrods employee has claimed Mohamed al Fayed and his brother, Salah, both assaulted her while she worked for the department store in the 1990s. Speaking on camera about her story for the first time, Rachael Louw told Sky News she was subjected to invasive sexual health tests, surveillance and inappropriate touching while working for the al Fayeds. During her three years at Harrods Rachael was propositioned by Salah al Fayed, who one night climbed into bed with her while she was working as his personal assistant on his yacht in Monaco. Upon her return to the Harrods store in London, the chairman, Mohamed, also preyed on her.

"There were things that happened there that I didn't realise were a part of trafficking: Isolation, phone bugging, no time on your own, exposure to these sexually charged situations - almost like to acclimatise you, to groom you into thinking that this is normal," she said. Ms Louw was in her early 20s when she moved from university to London in 1993 to work on the shop floor at Harrods. In what has now become a familiar tale among victims who have come forward, she was spotted by the chairman and soon promoted to be his brother's personal assistant.

At the time, she was excited. "You're entering this whole new lifestyle that is shiny and new and exciting, and I was like, okay, I'm ready for this. This is the next stage for me," she said. However, there were early signs that something was not right. Before taking the job Rachael was subjected to a compulsory sexual health check, conducted by Dr Ann Coxon on Harley Street. In a letter to the chairman's office, the doctor went into detail about Rachael's sexual history, her use of contraception, and her body shape, as well as her levels of personal hygiene.

Rachael had no idea her results had been sent to her employer, Mohamed al Fayed. She believes she was trafficked to Monaco for sexual exploitation, and this was the first stage of the process. She was not alone. Over the past four months, hundreds of women have come forward to detail their experiences of sexual assault and rape at the hands of Mohamed al Fayed. More recently it has come to light that his brother, Salah, may have also been an abuser.

Lawyers representing the victims have described the abuse, which took place in the 1990s and 2000s, as a gross example of corporate sexual exploitation. A police investigation is also under way. The Metropolitan Police, which is being investigated by the police watchdog over its handling of past allegations, is now investigating associates of al Fayed who may have facilitated or assisted the abuse. Both Salah and Mohamed have died, so cannot be held to account in the criminal courts.

'I was disgusted and didn't want to be there'. After the results of her health check were sent through, Rachael was asked to accompany Salah al Fayed on his yacht in Monaco. During that time, her employer became more and more suggestive. One night, he invited her to another boat where they dined with an older man and two young women. "He said: did I notice how friendly the girls had been with me? And I said: 'Yeah, they were really nice’. He said: 'Well, did you realise they wanted to sleep with you?'".

Rachael added: "Salah said there was an expectation that this evening would become something that involved all of us," and that "the idea had been to have group sex". "I was shocked and disgusted and didn't want to be there.". It didn't end there. One night she was invited to sleep in one of the more comfortable cabins on the boat, which had double beds. "I had been asleep for a few hours and I felt a movement on the bed… I woke up with a panic of, first, where was I? And then who was this? And I remember saying something like, 'What are you doing?' And Salah said, 'I'm lonely'… I just went ramrod still and he just carried on sleeping there.

"He went to sleep and I lay there the whole night and I didn't sleep, thinking if I moved, if I turned over, if I did any body movement whatsoever, he would misinterpret that as me giving him an indication that it was okay to touch me.". "It was probably one of the longest nights of my life," she added. "And I remember in the morning, aching because I'd been so tense the whole night.". Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.

'The more I resisted, the more upset he became'. Rachael said she eventually left Monaco after a month of repeated sexual advances. She booked a ticket to London and went back to the shop floor at Harrods. She thought she was safer away from Salah al Fayed but it was during this time that Mohamed assaulted her. Rachael was asked to visit the chairman at his flat in Park Lane to secure some paperwork she needed to take a sabbatical to Australia.