Woman Fayed’s Brother Drugged and Abused Her, She Tells BBC
A woman identified as Jill says Salah Fayed, brother of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, drugged and sexually assaulted her at the family's Balnagown estate in the Highlands in the 1990s. Police Scotland says three people have been identified in connection with offending there.
A woman has said Salah Fayed, the brother of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, trafficked her to the Scottish Highlands in the 1990s, drugged her, sexually assaulted her and held her prisoner. The woman's account of how the Fayed brother drugged her was given to BBC Scotland, which published it on November 9, 2026. These are her allegations; Salah Fayed died in 2010.
The woman, called Jill because her name has been changed for legal reasons, was a young Harrods employee at the time. She said she was recruited to what she believed was an executive training scheme.
It is the first time she has spoken about abuse that took place in Scotland. She said she was flown on the Fayed family's private jet to Balnagown, the family's estate in Easter Ross, where she was repeatedly assaulted.
From Harrods to Balnagown
Jill said she began at Harrods working for Mohamed Al Fayed, in a heavily monitored office staffed largely by young women. Access was tightly controlled, and staff were discouraged from speaking to others.
She was soon assigned to work for Salah Fayed. "I thought it might be better," she said. "Mohamed seemed creepy to me."
Her situation worsened rapidly, she said. "I was taken to Scotland twice. Both times it was on their private jet."
Flights landed at Inverness, she said, where the family's vehicles collected passengers and drove them to the estate. Balnagown had three residences, one for each brother. Jill described Salah Fayed's house as smaller than his brother's, isolated, overlooking a valley with forest behind.
Drugs and control
Jill alleged that Salah Fayed began giving her illegal substances. "The first time he forced me to take the drugs he tried to trick me into taking them," she said.
She said he locked her in a room and lied about what the substance was. When she refused, she said, he screamed at her and forced her to take it. "The drugs were part of his method of assaulting me," she said.
He controlled what she ate, wore and who she spoke to, she said. She described him as "a very cruel man" who exploited her vulnerabilities.
Escaping was hard, she said, and she only gradually grasped the extent of what had happened. "I was by then aware that I could not have been the only one," she said. "I tried to raise the alarm, I tried to warn people."
Police inquiries
Police Scotland said earlier this year that it was carrying out further investigations into allegations connected to Balnagown Estate. A spokesperson said three people had been identified in connection with offending against a number of victims. "Our inquiries are ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further," the spokesperson said.
Jill is one of hundreds of women who have alleged abuse by the Fayed brothers. Since Mohamed Al Fayed's death in 2023, hundreds of women and girls have said he sexually abused them. Salah Fayed, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010, has also been accused by numerous women.
A BBC documentary, Predator at Harrods, aired in 2024 with accusations from more than 20 women against Mohamed Al Fayed. Since then, more than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have come forward to lawyers.
The Fayed brothers, including Salah, bought Harrods, the luxury Knightsbridge department store, in 1985.
