Rowlands' Lonrho. The Al Fayed family of Egypt had been able to outbid him in buying Harrods in 1985. Inspectors appointed by the department of trade and industry had exposed the practice of "some dubious business ethics" in obtaining Harrods. Lonrho owns The Observer weekly which ruined its image of editorial independence by producing a special midweek edition to coincide with Lonrho's annual general meeting. The House of Lords was hearing a case on the status of the Inspector's Report when Observer published some extracts.