While the Home Office’s recognition of these five survivors is a welcome development, it raises uncomfortable questions about why it took so long for the state to act. Critics argue that this belated acknowledgement is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed. By focusing on individual cases through the National Referral Mechanism, the government risks treating the symptoms of a massive, systemic failure while avoiding the root cause. Many survivors and campaigners believe that this piecemeal approach is insufficient to address the full scale of the trafficking network that operated under Al Fayed’s control.
There is a growing concern that the state is using these individual rulings to avoid the more difficult task of launching a full statutory public inquiry. A public inquiry would have the power to compel witnesses to testify under oath and examine how institutions—including the police and corporate entities—enabled this abuse for decades. Without such an inquiry, the true extent of the complicity and the systemic failures that allowed a billionaire to operate with impunity will remain hidden. The current focus on individual victim status, while important, does not provide the comprehensive accountability that the public and the survivors deserve.
Furthermore, survivors have expressed frustration with the police’s handling of their cases, noting that they often felt their reports were not taken seriously until external pressure was applied. The reliance on the NRM process can be slow and bureaucratic, potentially leaving many other victims without the support or recognition they need. If the government is truly committed to tackling modern slavery, it must move beyond individual case management and address the systemic enabling of abuse by powerful, wealthy figures who have historically operated above the law.