Mother of chess plunge girl quizzed over plot to kill her husband

The mother of a teenage chess prodigy who plunged from a hotel window after accusing her father of rape has been questioned over an alleged plot to murder him.

Bank director Ian Gilbert was cleared of assaulting his daughter Jessie Gilbert, who fell to her death weeks before he was due to stand trial.

Angela Gilbert was interviewed under caution after police were alerted to an email tip-off claiming she had offered a hitman a large sum of money to kill Mr Gilbert on July 26, which will be the second anniversary of their daughter's death.

Mrs Gilbert, 54, said yesterday: 'I was told by the police that serious threats had been made against Ian Gilbert and that I was implicated. It's ludicrous, complete nonsense.'

The research scientist, who has three other daughters, accused her ex-husband of being the source of the allegations.

Jessie, 19, died in July 2006 when she fell 65ft from her eighth-floor room in the Czech Republic, where she was competing in an international chess tournament.

An inquest last September heard that the gifted youngster, who was due to study medicine at Oxford, had previously made two suicide attempts and at the time of her death was due to give evidence against her father.

After a coroner recorded an open verdict Mrs Gilbert  -  who told the inquest that Jessie was 'terrified' of her father and refused to see him  -  insisted her daughter took her own life and was in 'torment' at the prospect of attending his trial.

Jessie had accused him of repeatedly raping her between 1995 and 2000 at their £800,000 home in Woldingham, Surrey. She gave evidence during the trial at Guildford Crown Court from 'beyond the grave' through a taped police interview.

Dr Angela Gilbert pictured with her chess champion daughter Jessica Gilbert who plunged to her death from a hotel in the Czech Republic in 2006

Mr Gilbert, who works for the Royal Bank of Scotland, denied the allegation and said his daughter may have concocted the claim in revenge after a falling-out between them led to the break-up of the family.

He was cleared by a jury in December 2006.

Hours later, after being alerted by a third party, Surrey police arrested Mrs Gilbert at her Reigate home on suspicion of threatening to kill her ex-husband.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with the case.

Mrs Gilbert says police told her that Crimestoppers had 'received an email on June 26 to say that I had hired a contractor and offered him a large sum of money to have Ian killed on July 26, the second anniversary of Jessie's death.

Ian Gilbert stood trial for raping his daughter Jessica but was found not guilty

'The email said that initially I just wanted him seriously injured and then later I changed the instructions and said that I ordered him to be killed.

That was all the information the police would disclose to me. I was questioned voluntarily under caution and released without charge.

'It is just ridiculous to say that I want my ex-husband dead. Everyone knows that I have been to hell and back in the last few years and now I am just trying to put it all behind me and rebuild my life.

'It is really upsetting for my children to see their mother arrested over threats to kill their dad when the accusations are totally baseless.'

Surrey police said a 54-year-old woman had been interviewed on July 10 'and no further action has been taken'.

Mr Gilbert now lives with his new wife, Sally, in North London.

His solicitor, Peter Glibbery, said his client had no comment.