Survivors urge broader probe into Mohamed Al Fayed trafficking case
Met Police file submission sparks calls for wider trafficking network investigation
Survivors of abuse linked to the late billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed are pressing the Metropolitan Police to extend its investigation into the wider network of trafficking beyond individual offences.
Met Police officers have submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concerning an octogenarian suspected of involvement in two indecent assaults in London.
Known as Operation Cornpoppy, the investigation has involved interviews with seven suspects connected to aiding, abetting, and human trafficking, with over 400 allegations made against Al Fayed and others from 1977 to 2014.
The advocacy group, No One Above, led by survivors, acknowledges the submission as progress but demands deeper inquiries into recruitment, movement, financing, and the entities facilitating exploitation.
The group stated, “The submission of this file is a start — but a single file on a single individual is not, on its own, the trafficking investigation this case has always warranted.”
They insist the case involves a network backed by an international organisation, stressing the necessity of securing financial and documentary evidence promptly.
The investigation addresses the largest sex-trafficking case witnessed in Britain, with 156 victims having reached out to the Met Police, including 21 before Al Fayed's 2023 passing.
Co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group, MPs Dave Robertson and Wendy Chamberlain, consider the submission a pivotal moment for survivors, with many having awaited justice for years or decades.
The Metropolitan Police has reportedly accelerated progress, reassuring MPs of active developments in the investigation.