Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will have discussions with the Met Police on the potential merits of it releasing further information on Operation Corn Poppy into alleged abuse at Harrods and other workplaces connected to the Al-Fayeds, including when it plans to (a) conclude and (b) report its findings.

We expect every report of a sexual offence and trafficking to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

However, the Home Office is unable to intervene in, or comment on, the progress of these individual cases. This is not because of a lack of concern, but because it is a fundamental principle of our criminal justice system that the police and courts are operationally independent of Government.

We are aware that the Metropolitan Police Service is continuing to conduct a multi-strand investigation into allegations involving Mohamed Al Fayed, known as Operation Cornpoppy and they are best placed to assess the potential merits of releasing further information on progress.