Fayed abuse survivors call for scrutiny of UK medical regulator

Survivors of Mohamed Al Fayed’s sexual abuse have called for an investigation into whether the General Medical Council failed to act on allegations involving doctors linked to the former Harrods owner. The survivors’ concerns centre on a 2017 complaint about Dr Wendy Snell, who was accused of subjecting a woman to intrusive sexual health examinations during a recruitment process and sharing the results with Fayed. Snell died in 2022.

Pelham Spong, who was 23 at the time, said she underwent the examinations in 2008 while being considered for a job. She alleged that Fayed later forcibly kissed her and questioned her about a sexually transmitted disease, information she believed had been given to him by Snell. Spong complained to the GMC in 2017.

According to the report, the regulator said it was not in the greater public interest to investigate Snell and that it lacked powers to determine whether a gynaecological examination should have formed part of a recruitment process. Spong also reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police. She said the police obtained her GMC complaint during initial inquiries but took no further action.

She argues that earlier intervention could have prevented further abuse. Other women described similar allegations. One, identified as Joan, alleged that Dr Ann Coxon disclosed the results of her sexual health tests to Fayed’s brother before she was raped.

Coxon denied carrying out such tests on Harrods staff, according to the report. The GMC has imposed interim restrictions on Coxon and another doctor while a full investigation proceeds. A solicitor representing several survivors said the action was too late and called for a public inquiry covering the regulator and police.

The GMC said reports of abuse by Fayed were horrifying and shocking and that it was investigating doctors employed by him. Fayed died in 2023, before hundreds of women publicly accused him of sexual assault.