Father 'shocked' at rape charges

Ian Gilbert said his daughter Jessie was "very sensitive"

The father of a chess prodigy said allegations that he raped his daughter were "absolutely outrageous", a court has heard.

Ian Gilbert, 48, told the court that the accusations had "shocked" him.

Mr Gilbert, a director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, has denied five counts of raping Jessie between 1995 and 2000.

Jessie, 19, from Croydon, south London, fell to her death from a hotel window in the Czech Republic in July.

'Very sensitive'

Mr Gilbert said: "No truth at all. Completely untrue. I wouldn't have considered it or thought about it.

"It's absolutely outrageous. It's ridiculous. She's my daughter."

When his defence counsel Sonia Woodley QC asked him about his reaction when he was first accused, Mr Gilbert told the Guildford Crown Court: "I was just in shock.

"I had been told about the allegations over the phone by the solicitor and it was just a ridiculous thing to say. It was outrageous."

He said that Jessie was a talented chess player but was very sensitive to criticism.

"Jessie was very sensitive. If in any way something was said to her that she could term as criticism she would burst into tears, even over the most minor things."

He also said that he cherished taking breaks with his daughter as both of them did not get to spend a lot of time together.

"She did so much chess that I just didn't see her most of the time. I was working in the week and she was out at weekends, so holidays were important and the trip to Cornwall was sacrosanct.

"That was the most important period of the year for me," he said.

The trial continues.