London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

British woman to sue UAE royal she accuses of sexual assault for damages

British woman to sue UAE royal she accuses of sexual assault for damages

Caitlin McNamara’s lawyers say she is taking the step after the CPS refused to prosecute Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan
A British woman who accused a senior United Arab Emirates royal of sexually assaulting her has issued a formal claim for damages.

Caitlin McNamara is claiming damages for multiple sexual assaults and false imprisonment she allegedly suffered at the hands of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan on 14 February 2020 at a private residence in Abu Dhabi.

Her lawyers said today that she was compelled to take the step after the refusal of the British authorities to prosecute Nahyan, the UAE’s minister for tolerance and coexistence.

In effect, the letter gives the sheikh an opportunity to hold his hands up and potentially offer an out-of-court settlement. The likelihood of that remains an open question.

Civil proceedings will be brought if necessary in the high court in London, according to the law firm Carter-Ruck, which has been engaged by McNamara.

McNamara, who was the curator of the first Hay festival in Abu Dhabi in February 2020, went public with her accusations last year.

She alleges that the sheikh attacked her shortly before the festival, which his department had funded.

She had believed she would be attending a business meeting with the royal, who denies the allegations. His London lawyer said: “Our client is surprised and saddened by this allegation, which arrives eight months after the alleged incident and via a national newspaper. The account is denied.”

In Britain, the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute Nahyan, arguing that there was not enough evidence that he was acting in his official duties during the alleged attack.

In an article she wrote for the Guardian last month, McNamara said she had always known how hard it would be to get criminal justice, because of the sheikh’s status.

“When the civil route was first suggested, I was adamant I did not want to sue,” she added. “I felt sick at the thought of a financial price being put on my pain. I was also acutely aware of Nahyan’s wealth, and how this might be perceived. But after a long year of learning from campaigners, legal experts and other survivors, I think differently.”

McNamara – who sought a judicial review of the CPS decision and was told in December that it was being confirmed – said it was hard not to feel like collateral damage against the backdrop of Britain’s relationship with the UAE.

Also in December, Prince Charles and Boris Johnson had hosted three other members of the Al Nahyan family, including Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed, sponsor of Hay festival Abu Dhabi. A statement released by Downing Street after that event said that Johnson was looking forward to the Dubai Expo. Nahyan will be commissioner-general of the event, which begin in October.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×