A Devon woman, Joanna Brittan, has alleged that she was a victim of a data breach by the police involving Mohammed Al Fayed. Brittan claimed that in 2017, she reported being trafficked and raped by Al Fayed and another individual to Devon & Cornwall police. However, she later discovered that her personal information, including her statement, date of birth, address, and contact number, was mistakenly sent to a person in Australia who was also allegedly victimized by Al Fayed.
Following this error, Brittan criticized the Metropolitan Police as “shambolic, incompetent, and complicit” for mishandling her case. The police, upon identifying the data breach caused by human error, forwarded the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office and offered Brittan a one-off payment as compensation.
Initially reported as a rape allegation against Al Fayed’s associate Ahmed Obaidly in 2017, Brittan later provided additional information during a video interview with the police in 2020. However, the investigation could not proceed as Obaidly had passed away in 2015, leaving Brittan and her advocate, Jasvinder Sanghera, dismayed by the outcome.
The Metropolitan Police assured ongoing efforts in investigating those possibly involved in facilitating Al Fayed’s offenses and emphasized their improved approach to handling rape and sexual offense cases with a focus on supporting victims. They encouraged anyone with information or who may have been impacted by Al Fayed to come forward.
Furthermore, Brittan’s case is being examined under the National Referral Mechanism as a potential victim of modern slavery. She expressed relief that she can now shed the burden of shame that was wrongly imposed on her.
Brittan is among approximately 200 individuals identified as potential victims of Al Fayed, who are set to virtually meet with Sir Keir Starmer for a discussion. Meanwhile, a probe is underway regarding the conduct of a serving Met Police detective and four former officers in handling allegations against Al Fayed, indicating ongoing scrutiny of the case.