Harrods' owner Mohamed al-Fayed was questioned by police on Wednesday over a newspaper report which alleged he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at his London department store, his spokeswoman said. Al-Fayed voluntarily went to a police station in west London to answer questions in a 30-minute meeting about the alleged incident that took place in May, reports said.
London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that a man attended a police station and was questioned under caution "in relation to an allegation of sexual assault that was received in May in 2008 on a girl under 16 at a business premises in central London."
In keeping with British police convention, they did not confirm the identity of the man questioned. There have been no arrests in the inquiry so far. It is unclear in the police statement whether al-Fayed was questioned as a witness or played some other part in the case.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported this week that a 15-year-old girl had accused an unnamed "senior Harrods executive" of fondling and kissing her after meeting him while shopping with her mother.
