Victims of Mohamed Al Fayed have leveled accusations against the General Medical Council (GMC), asserting that the medical regulator enabled his sexual abuse to continue by declining to investigate complaints alleging doctors were complicit in his crimes. The allegations center on a pattern in which certain physicians allegedly conducted intrusive sexual health examinations on women as part of employment screening at Harrods, then shared the results with Fayed, who subsequently abused the women involved.
Pelham Spong filed a complaint with the GMC in 2017 regarding Dr Wendy Snell, who was employed by Fayed and allegedly subjected Spong to sexual health testing during a job interview. According to Spong’s account, Fayed questioned her about confidential medical information that day and later assaulted her. When Spong informed the GMC of these events, the regulator responded that investigating the matter was not in the “greater public interest” and stated it lacked authority to examine whether such examinations should have been part of the hiring process. Spong also reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police in October 2017, though no further action was pursued.
Additional victims have come forward with comparable experiences involving other physicians. One woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Fayed’s brother after undergoing a sexual health examination with Dr Ann Coxon, during which she claims Coxon disclosed test results to the brother over the telephone. Another victim reports enduring a full gynecological examination and testing by Snell following Fayed’s sale of Harrods, after which she was groped by Fayed.
The GMC has now imposed practice restrictions on Dr Coxon and another physician pending investigation, moves that come years after the initial 2017 complaints. Legal representatives for victims argue this action represents a significant delay and that the GMC should have reported the allegations to law enforcement when first received. Calls have intensified for a public inquiry into Fayed’s crimes that would examine institutional failures by both the GMC and the Metropolitan Police.
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