Met Police Exposes Victims' Emails in Al Fayed Investigation Breach
Human error reveals contact details of 143 alleged victims; force refers itself to ICO amid ongoing complaints.
Sarah Connor
The Metropolitan Police inadvertently disclosed the email addresses of 143 alleged victims of Mohamed Al Fayed.
Recipients' contact details became visible to others on a distribution list during a routine update.
This breach follows a series of complaints submitted to the police watchdog concerning the Met's historical handling of allegations against Al Fayed.
More than 400 claims of sexual misconduct, spanning from 1977 to 2014, have been made against Mohamed Al Fayed.
The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) following the incident.
The force confirmed it copied in all recipients of a monthly email update for victims instead of using blind copy.
Due to human error, recipients' email addresses were visible to others on the distribution list. The issue was identified quickly and immediate action was taken.
The spokesperson added, "We understand the impact this may have on victims and sincerely apologise. Everyone affected was contacted directly on the day of the incident."
Joanna Brittan, an alleged victim, wrote to senior officers, stating her email address had 'been disclosed to 42 other survivors, and I have likewise been given access to their email addresses'.
Brittan previously received a compensation offer for another Met data breach after sensitive information from her first police interview was mistakenly disclosed to two individuals in Australia.
The Met reportedly sent the handwritten accounts of survivor Joanna Brittan to another victim in Australia.
The breach is understood to have affected all victims who opted in to receive updates from the investigation team, though recipients were split into smaller groups, meaning addresses were only visible to specific recipient groups.
Three further suspects have been interviewed under caution regarding allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed, bringing the total to seven.
Operation Cornpoppy, launched 21 months ago, investigates potential suspects who may have facilitated or enabled Fayed's crimes.
The Metropolitan Police investigates allegations made by at least 155 victims, with criminal allegations concerning Mohamed Al Fayed also made in 2024, now forming part of Operation Cornpoppy.
The force said the original report, made to Devon and Cornwall Police in 2017, transferred to London because the alleged offending took place within its jurisdiction.
The incident has been formally recorded within the investigation records, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
Harrods has reportedly set aside £62.5 million to compensate victims of its former owner and has paid compensation to over 100 survivors.
The family of Samantha-Jane Ramsay stated she contacted the Met about her ordeal in 1995 when she was 17, and officers told her nothing could be done.
The incident is being investigated as a matter of priority, and we are reviewing our processes to help prevent a similar breach from happening again.