Mohamed Al Fayed's security chief corrupted the Jill Dando murder investigation by bribing a corrupt man he knew police detective, it has been claimed.
John MacNamara, who headed the late Harrods tycoon's extensive security operation, has been accused of conspiring to pay off an officer in exchange for confidential information about the BBC star's death.
BBC Crimewatch presenter Jill was tragically shot in the head outside her west London home in 1999, sparking Britain's biggest police investigation since the Yorkshire Ripper. She died at age 37 and her murder remains unsolved.
Punch magazine, once owned by predator Al Fayed, previously published key unknown details of the investigation, including that Ms Dando was shot behind the ear.
In his 2002 book Dead on Time, Punch writer John McVicar claimed that former Met police chief Macnamara arranged for him to meet a detective who leaked details of the investigation for £300, O mirror reports.
McVicar, who died two years ago at age 82, said he was told to put the money in a manila envelope “in honor of Mo [Al Fayed]'.
John MacNamara, who headed the late Harrod tycoon's extensive security operation, was accused of conspiring to bribe a corrupt detective to obtain information about the murder of Jill Dando
Macnamara was Al Fayed's security chief and was previously accused of intimidating victims into not speaking out
BBC Crimewatch presenter Jill was tragically shot in the head outside her west London home in 1999
McVicar, a notorious former thief who escaped prison twice before becoming a writer, once said of Macnarmara, who died in 2019: “He destroyed the careers and lives of many more people than he built.”
This comes amid allegations that Al Fayed also used Macnamara to bribe police officers and threaten his alleged victims to help him cover up years of abuse.
Al Fayed, who died aged 94 last year, was hit by a barrage of rape and assault allegations last month after at least two former Harrods employees told a BBC documentary that they had been raped or molested by extravagant Egyptian tycoon.
But on Friday, the Met Police revealed it is investigating 40 new allegations against Al Fayed and others since the BBC documentary.
The 40 new allegations relate to 40 alleged victims and add to allegations that police were aware of prior to the investigation and the BBC documentary, Scotland Yard said.
Prior to recent media coverage, 21 charges were filed against the late billionaire, which resulted in crimes relating to 21 different women being recorded between 2005 and 2023.
The crimes were said to have occurred between 1979 and 2013. Four of the reports were allegations of rape, 16 were of sexual assault and one was related to trafficking, the Met said.
The Crown Prosecution Service was approached by Scotland Yard on five occasions between 2005 and 2023, the force said, but no further action was taken against Al Fayed.
In his 2002 book Dead on Time, Punch writer John McVicar claimed that former Met police chief Macnamara arranged for him to meet a detective who leaked details of the investigation for £300.
The force said that although it was not possible to bring criminal proceedings against Mr Al Fayed – as he is no longer alive – it would “continue to explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any crimes”.
Female victims who came forward to share their horrific experiences also told the lengths to which Al Fayed's inner circle went to cover up his crimes.
In 1995, women made allegations of sexual misconduct against Al Fayed to Vanity Fair journalist Maureen Oath.
One of Al Fayed's personal assistants, 'Alice', whose name has been changed to protect her identity, stated that she told Ms Oath that she would give an anonymous statement about Al Fayed's behaviour. Before the article was published, Alice claims that MacNamara intimidated her to prevent her from speaking again.
She said in the documentary: “John MacNamara contacted me before the article was published and I had no idea how he found me.
'He said I shouldn't get involved in that article, but if I went against his advice, just to know he knew where my parents lived. It left me cold.
'After I spoke to Maureen, I never spoke to anyone else again for fear of what it might bring.'
The article was published without any serious allegations of sexual assault and Al Fayed sued the magazine for defamation. He later dropped the multimillion-dollar lawsuit.
Around the same time, a member of Al Fayed's personal security team – who worked closely with MacNamara – said he was a “nasty piece and would threaten people and things and use his power as a former police officer”.
Dozens of sexual assault allegations have been made against billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed (pictured), dating back almost half a century
Al Fayed in 2005 at the unveiling of a memorial to his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales
The Met says “the majority” of reports it has received coincide with Al Fayed’s ownership of Harrods
He added: 'I know for a fact that MacNamara personally knocked on someone's door and threatened a girl.'
After Princess Diana died in a car accident with Al Fayed's son Dodi Al Fayed, MacNamara began his own private investigation into the accident, which ran parallel to the official inquiry.
Working with Al Fayed, the pair made a series of bizarre claims that the Royal Family was involved in the tragedy.
He invented the story that Prince Philip and MI6 somehow conspired to murder Diana and Dodi to stop them from getting married.
MacNamara sought to establish the reason for the accident and began to claim that Diana was pregnant and that this was the reason for killing her.
He hired a retired French police officer to “prove” that MI6 was behind the plot and that the agency had been acting on orders from Prince Philip.
Then he told the story that a white Fiat Uno had deliberately crashed into the Mercedes in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. Presenting himself as a straight-talking police officer, Macnamara convinced journalists to believe his fantasy.
His fantasy collapsed in 2008 during an inquest into the deaths of Diana, 36, Dodi, 42, and driver Henri Paul, 41, where he admitted there was no evidence to support his theories.
At the inquest, MacNamara clashed with the coroner after admitting he initially lied about how much Henri Paul had drunk that night and whether Diana was pregnant when she died.
Lord Justice Scott Baker asked Macnamara: 'If you are telling lies on some occasions, how can they [the jury] tell if you are telling the truth about others?'
Macnamara replied: 'I came here to tell the truth.'
He passed away in 2019 after suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy.
