Harrods’ new owner, the Qatar Investment Authority, said an internal review was underway and declined to say whether it had identified or taken any action against anyone currently working there.

Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, was accused of sexually assaulting more than 20 women in a BBC documentary and podcast in September.

Hundreds of people have contacted the BBC directly about Harrods and Mohamed Al-Fayed since the broadcast of the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods.

More than 70 of these came from women who sent the BBC accounts of Al-Fayed’s abuse, including sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape.

Mr Ward said in a statement in September that he had stood down as a trustee of the Royal Ballet and the Opera while the review at Harrods takes place.

He added in the statement that he was unaware of the abuse at Harrods and that Al Fayed was “teaching a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussions and sexual misconduct”, calling it a “shameful period”.

He said no formal complaints had been brought against him during his time with Al Fayed, although rumors about his behavior were in the “public domain”.

The BBC asked Mr Ward for an interview to try to find out what senior staff at Harrods knew about the allegations at the time, but this was refused.

When approached by the BBC at Harrods headquarters, Mr Ward said Harrods had “nothing more to add”.