Dubai royal family aide lifts lid on UK palace
'sex secrets.
An aide to Dubai�s royal family was sacked
after refusing to spy on a dignitary suspected
of conducting an affair at one of their British
palaces, a tribunal has heard.
The unfair dismissal case launched by Ejil
Mohammed Ali has thrown a rare spotlight on
life in the royal household, including allegations
of extra-marital relationships and drug addiction.
Mr Ali, 32, alleges that superiors told him
a dignatry from Dubai staying at one of Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's royal palaces
was having an affair with a personal aide
several years their junior.
He also claims that Sheikh Rashid, the eldest
son of the multi-billionaire racehorse owner,
recently underwent drug rehabilitation.
As the stores supervisor at the family's sprawling
Longross Palace near Chertsey, Surrey, Mr
Ali claims he came into regular contact with
the Arab family, describing them as �very
down to earth people."
But he alleges that his career came to an
abrupt end when he refused demands from his
bosses to spy on the dignitary, who they believed
was being unfaithful with another member of
staff.
He claims that when he refused, he was bullied,
harassed and eventually dismissed from his
�60,000-a-year job.
The dignitary cannot be named because the
tribunal imposed a gagging order preventing
details of the alleged affair being published.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by
Sheikh Mohammed, who is the world's most influential
racehorse owner through his Godolphin stables,
or any of his family.
Mr Ali claims he was a �trusted servant
of the royal family�, working for UK Mission
Enterprises Ltd � a company which provides
logistics exclusively for the royal family.
He alleges that in June 2009 he was summoned
to a meeting with the firm�s managing director
Abdulla Shakeri, and Abdullah Al-Mansoori,
a diplomat for the United Arab Emirates.
He claims that the pair asked him to exploit
his �privileged access� at the palace
to spy on a dignatary they suspected of having
an affair.
As a sweetener, he was offered the chance
to buy Mr Al-Mansoori�s �15,000 convertible
BMW car for just �1,000, the tribunal was
told.
�They suspected that [the dignitary] was
having an affair with [a] personal assistant
and wanted me to find out the truth for them,�
Mr Ali said.
�They wanted me to spy on [them] when [they]
were visiting Longcross.�
The father-of-one said he refused the �mission�
because he thought it was illegal and that
when he threatened to call the police, Mr
Al-Mansoori replied: �I�m a diplomat,
nobody can touch me.�
He claims he was suspended in September 2009
and sacked four months later following a �sham
dismissal process� in which he was accused
of racism, theft, Islamic extremism, and threats
to kill colleagues.
Mr Ali also claims that before he was sacked,
his employers sent henchmen to follow him
and vandalise his home, leaving he and his
family fearing for their safety.
Two of his colleagues, Edwin Amagua and Olatunji
Faleye, are also claiming unfair dismissal
and discrimination respectively, alleging
that they were forced out of their jobs after
refusing to sign false statements about Mr
Ali�s conduct.
The three claimants, from London, are collectively
suing UK Mission Enterprise Ltd, Mr Shakeri,
Mr Al-Mansoori and Yousuf Mohammed, a former
colleague.
The respondents deny all the allegations.
They claim the men were dismissed because
their work did not meet the required standards.
They also deny that Mr Ali was ever asked
to spy on the dignitary or that he ever came
into contact with the person.
Sheikh Mohammed, 61, is Prime Minister of
the United Arab Emirates and reportedly has
a personal fortune of �8 billion.
His elder wife, Sheikha Hind, who is rarely
seen in public, is thought to be in her 50s
and the mother of 12 of Sheikh Mohammed�s
children.
His second wife is Princess Haya bint Al Hussein,
a 36-year-old international showjumping champion,
who gave birth to a daughter in 2007.
The Sheikh�s vast UK property empire includes
numerous homes in and around London, including
Longcross - thought to be worth around �75
million � as well as his own palace, thousands
of acres of land, and stables near Newmarket,
Suffolk � the home of British horseracing.
The hearing at the Central London Employment
Tribunal continues.
