Drab, laborious and dreadfully predictable, the Bianconeri promised change but seem to be delivering much of the same, with fewer positive results.

Andrew Moll, the chief inspector of Marine Accidents, said it was a "cruel lesson of how rapidly things can go dreadfully wrong".

The BBC approached Michael Ward at the Harrods headquarters and he said: "I am very dreadfully sorry for what has happened with Al Fayed."

"I suffered dreadfully and still do with my periods but was not diagnosed until my 40s."

"This is plainly a dreadfully sad case," he said.