Woman alleges Salah Fayed drugged and sexually assaulted her at Scottish estate

Allegations at Balnagown

Jill, a pseudonym used for legal reasons, says she was a young employee at Harrods in the 1990s when she was selected for what she believed was an executive training scheme. Instead, she told BBC Scotland, she was flown twice on the Fayed family's private jet, landing at Inverness and then being driven to Balnagown, the family's estate in Easter Ross. She describes three residences on the estate, one for each brother, and says she was taken to Salah Fayed's house, which she recalls as smaller than Mohamed Al Fayed's. The estate is described as isolated, overlooking a valley with forest behind it. She alleges she was sexually assaulted there on repeated occasions and that her freedom of movement was restricted for much of her time at the property. Salah Fayed died of pancreatic cancer in 2010.

Drugging and control

Jill says the abuse involved drugs that Salah Fayed gave her. She recalls that the first time she was made to take them, he lied about what they were, locked her in a room and told her they would do her good. When she refused, she says, he shouted at her and forced her to take them. She calls the substances part of his method for assaulting her. She also says he decided what she wore and ate, and whom she was allowed to speak to. She says the isolation she experienced lasted for much of that period.

Escape and warnings

Jill says she eventually managed to get away, but it took time for her to understand the extent of what had been done to her. Before leaving, she came to believe she was not the only person affected, and she says she tried to alert others to Salah Fayed's conduct. Her account begins with her work for Mohamed Al Fayed, in an office under strict supervision where most staff were young women. When she was later assigned to Salah, she says she hoped conditions would be better, though she found Mohamed unsettling and her situation worsened quickly.

Police inquiry and wider scandal

Police Scotland has identified three people in connection with alleged offending against several victims at Balnagown, and it says its inquiries are still under way. The allegations against the Fayed family form part of a larger scandal. More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against Mohamed Al Fayed and people associated with him, covering incidents between 1977 and 2014 and including sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation and trafficking. The Metropolitan Police is handling reports from at least 159 victims who have contacted it directly. Hundreds of women and girls have alleged sexual abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed, who died in 2023, and numerous women have also accused Salah Fayed.