Harrods to remove sculptures depicting Fayed as an Egyptian pharaoh

Harrods is to region sculptures of Mohamed al Fayed who is accused of raping and sexually assaulting dozens of women.

The celebrated store successful Knightsbridge, westbound London, has submitted a readying exertion to renovate a elaborate Egyptian-themed hallway and regenerate a five-floor escalator which features busts depicting erstwhile proprietor Fayed arsenic a pharaoh.

The exertion acknowledges "the Egyptian Escalator explicitly celebrates Mr al Fayed, including sixteen immense sculptures of his face", adding that they correspond "a ocular reminder of his misdeeds".

It adds: "Obituaries, portion referring to his bonzer concern career, characterised him arsenic a liar, a fantasist and an aggressive intersexual predator.

"This is not 'contested heritage' successful the consciousness that determination is immoderate humanities contented astatine stake; it is the continuing nationalist solemnisation of a antheral whose victims are inactive alive."

In an update successful August, the Metropolitan Police said 146 radical had travel guardant to study a transgression arsenic portion of their probe into the erstwhile Harrods boss, who died successful 2023 aged 94.

Harrods told Sky News it has submitted plans to marque changes to the interior of the Grade II* listed building.

"Having heard feedback from survivors, we person been moving to expedite the projected redevelopment task of the Egyptian escalators, and a readying and listed gathering consent exertion has present been submitted," it said successful a statement.

"Any projected changes successful store necessitate considered plans, lengthy assessments, and adjacent enactment with a fig of applicable authorities."

Read much from Sky News:
Fayed: Never acold from controversy
Probe into handling of Fayed reports
Harrods challenges ineligible fees

Fayed sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings successful 2010 and his different main plus successful the UK, Fulham FC, was offloaded successful 2013 to the US businessman Shahid Khan.

In June, Sky News reported that Harrods is preparing to instrumentality ineligible enactment against the estate of its erstwhile owner, arsenic the multimillion-pound ineligible measure for compensating his intersexual maltreatment victims continues to escalate.

More than 100 survivors of alleged intersexual maltreatment by Fayed person entered Harrods' redress scheme, the section store said successful July.

The Metropolitan Police is conducting an probe into however it handled humanities allegations of offending by Fayed.

It volition besides look into immoderate imaginable facilitators and enablers, and whether immoderate misconduct oregon corruption occurred.

It is looking astatine individuals surrounding Fayed who could person enabled him to perpetrate crimes which are claimed to person spanned decades betwixt 1977 and 2014.