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 The BBC's Joshua Rozenburg reports"Their battle was to continue even beyond the grave"  real 28k  Josephine Rowland talks to the BBC"Until the defence collapsed, we had not received this offer of fair and generous compensation"  real 28k |
Al-Fayed payout over missing gems
Rowland and al-Fayed settled their dispute over Harrods
Harrods boss Mohamed al-Fayed has agreed to pay the widow of entrepreneur Tiny Rowland £1.4m in damages over the loss of gems from her husband's safety deposit box at the store.
Josephine Rowland, who took over the action when her husband died two years ago, has won compensation for the loss of 20 emeralds, seven rubies and four tanzanite stones.
She claimed they went missing when Mr al-Fayed broke into Mr Rowland's safety deposit box at the Knightsbridge store. The stones were never recovered.
Mr Rowland and Mr al-Fayed were long-term business rivals who fought a bitter battle for control of Harrods' parent group, House of Fraser, in the 1980s.
After the case was settled, Mrs Rowland said: "This is not about money. Those stones were selected by my husband as gifts for our daughters and were a very great loss to us."
She said the gems were brought from mines Tiny Rowland owned in South Africa, adding: "My children will never be able to say these stones came from daddy's mines."
'No public apology'
Acting for Mrs Rowland, Christopher Moger QC said Mr al-Fayed had "flatly denied" he was involved at first, but by submitting to judgment in the previous hearing he had admitted he was responsible for the three break-ins which dated back to December 1995.
Josephine Rowland, who took over the action when her husband died two years ago, has won compensation for the loss of 20 emeralds, seven rubies and four tanzanite stones.
 Josephine Rowland: "Not about money"
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Mr Rowland and Mr al-Fayed were long-term business rivals who fought a bitter battle for control of Harrods' parent group, House of Fraser, in the 1980s.
After the case was settled, Mrs Rowland said: "This is not about money. Those stones were selected by my husband as gifts for our daughters and were a very great loss to us."
She said the gems were brought from mines Tiny Rowland owned in South Africa, adding: "My children will never be able to say these stones came from daddy's mines."
'No public apology'
Acting for Mrs Rowland, Christopher Moger QC said Mr al-Fayed had "flatly denied" he was involved at first, but by submitting to judgment in the previous hearing he had admitted he was responsible for the three break-ins which dated back to December 1995.
My children will never be able to say these stones came from daddy's mines  |
Josephine Rowland
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"The result is that, together with the general and special damages, the claimant has made a total recovery in excess of £1.65m in respect of the defendant's unlawful conduct," he said.
Mr Moger said: "The most remarkable thing about it all is that with the exception of an expression of regret in an opening statement for the defendants, there has been no public apology...for the outrageous invasion of Mr Rowland's private property."
Christopher Carr QC, representing Mr al-Fayed, said although his client had agreed to pay the compensation, he had done so "expressly on the basis that they had no personal responsibility for taking or stealing the stones".
He said they did accept responsibility for the opening of the box and the loss of the various items.
The BBC's legal affairs correspondent Joshua Rozenberg said the case had been set down for a three-day hearing at the High Court but on Thursday morning Mr al-Fayed agreed to pay Mrs Rowland the full sum she was seeking.
Mr al-Fayed, his head of security John Macnamara, private secretary Mark Griffiths and bodyguard Paul Handly-Greaves have already been found liable for damages totalling £253,465.
The parties have already agreed sums including £2,400 for a missing gold cigarette case, £1,000 for missing Tibetan coins, £150,000 for reducing the value of Mr Rowland's archive when his personal letters were copied and £100,000 special damages.
Mr Moger said the Harrods owner had capitulated and agreed to submit to judgment for the whole sum claimed.
Mr Moger said: "The most remarkable thing about it all is that with the exception of an expression of regret in an opening statement for the defendants, there has been no public apology...for the outrageous invasion of Mr Rowland's private property."
Christopher Carr QC, representing Mr al-Fayed, said although his client had agreed to pay the compensation, he had done so "expressly on the basis that they had no personal responsibility for taking or stealing the stones".
 The safety deposit box was at Harrods
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The BBC's legal affairs correspondent Joshua Rozenberg said the case had been set down for a three-day hearing at the High Court but on Thursday morning Mr al-Fayed agreed to pay Mrs Rowland the full sum she was seeking.
Mr al-Fayed, his head of security John Macnamara, private secretary Mark Griffiths and bodyguard Paul Handly-Greaves have already been found liable for damages totalling £253,465.
The parties have already agreed sums including £2,400 for a missing gold cigarette case, £1,000 for missing Tibetan coins, £150,000 for reducing the value of Mr Rowland's archive when his personal letters were copied and £100,000 special damages.
Mr Moger said the Harrods owner had capitulated and agreed to submit to judgment for the whole sum claimed.
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