Alleged victim: I was discredited to protect CITB’s reputation

when he broke it off. No evidence to support his claim has emerged, yet CITB merely disciplined him and sacked Jan.

She took the body to an employment tribunal. But as the hearing approached, CITB offered her £15,000 to settle, demanding a gagging clause.

CITB eventually paid a sum that left Jan with £50,000 after tax and dropped all conditions after she refused to sign any clauses.

Jan reported the alleged rape to the police herself. Officers interviewed her ex-colleague but told her he had given a “no-comment interview”, and without corroboration could not be charged.

The indecent image sent to her mobile was reported to the Crown, but it decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute him.

Despite the absence of criminal charges, Jan was awarded a four-figure sum from the Criminal Injuries

Compensation Authority, which accepted she had been the victim of a sexual assault.

Jan made a request to both Police Scotland and CITB under data protection rules for information held about her.

She learned that police had no record of CITB reporting her allegation of rape, and CITB failed to find any evidence of having done so.

Jan learned via documents produced by Police Scotland that CITB sent police an email that stated: “Two parties were disciplined for exchanging a significant number of calls and some inappropriate images.”

She said: “I never had a consensual relationship or exchanged indecent images. I only received them, so I believe CITB influenced the police to discredit me.”

Jan was also perplexed to learn that both her own and her former colleague’s mobile phones had been disposed of by CITB. She believes they would have held evidence that would have supported her account.

She said: “CITB did everything to discredit and silence me to protect its reputation.

“The system is unfairly stacked against anyone reporting harassment, because companies with unlimited funding can pay to make the problem go away with no accountability.”

Adrian Beckingham, CITB corporate performance director, said: “At the time that CITB issued its statement in response to your previous inquiry, there was a genuinely held belief that personnel had reported the allegations to Police Scotland.

“While this belief remains, due to the passage of time and change in personnel, it has not been possible to verify but CITB did co-operate in relation to the police inquiry.

“It is not appropriate for CITB to comment further.”

Police Scotland said it could not add to the information already provided to Jan.