A Forest of Dean District councillor accused of raping a woman seven years ago told a jury yesterday (May 17) that her allegations are 'vindictive lies.'Ian Whitburn of Newland Street, Coleford, the recently re-elected Independent councillor for Coleford, went into the witness box at Gloucester Crown Court and said he had never raped anybody.“I’ve never forced anybody to have sex. We didn’t have sex when she said I raped her. These are all vindictive lies. End of story," he declared.Mr Whitburn said that on one of the occasions they had met up he had to get up early the next day and had gone to bed alone. But during the night the woman walked in on him and claimed he raped her, he said.“This didn’t happen. I am absolutely certain that because of my commitments the next day, I wanted to sleep and nothing else. I am absolutely positive I did not rape her that night. I didn’t grab her by the throat or pin her on the bed and rape her as she alleges - this just didn’t happen.”Mr Whitburn said that on another occasion when they met up five months later: “I don’t recall anything happening that night at all. I did not rape her either anally or vaginally, as she alleges.”The jury heard that Mr Whitburn admitted he may have been angry with the woman when they met up the following month, and had a blazing row: “I just stood there and took it. She was screaming and shouting at me. I was upset by this, but I didn’t rape her. I doubt we even had sex.”Prosecutor James Tucker told the jury that Mr Whitburn’s public persona was of a very sociable and good natured man. However the woman alleges that his anger would often become ‘uncontrollable’ and he 'lost the plot' on one occasion and resorted to raping her, despite her saying no.Peter Binder, defending, told the jury that it is Mr Whitburn's defence that sex with the woman had been consensual on all occasions. "He never raped her," he said.The jury heard that the woman reported the incidents to the police in 2019, three years after the last alleged rape. Mr Whitburn was subsequently interviewed by officers.