Parties raise further questions over latest Jeffrey Donaldson allegations

By Jonathan McCambridge (Press Association)

Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party have said there are further questions for the DUP to answer about the behaviour of former leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

The calls come amid new allegations about Donaldson, who was last month convicted of sex offences against two women when they were children, including one count of rape.

The Belfast Telegraph reported on Tuesday that a woman has made a complaint to police that Donaldson had sexually assaulted her in the DUP Westminster offices in 2016.

A PSNI spokesperson told the Press Association: “Police have received a report about an allegation of a non-recent offence and are assessing the information.”

The DUP has previously commissioned an independent review into issues raised since Donaldson was convicted.

Following the latest allegations, Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey said the public are “entitled to answers”.

She said: “The DUP cannot hide behind their own self-styled review to avoid scrutiny.”

Alliance Party leader Eóin Tennyson said the latest allegations about Donaldson are “deeply concerning”.

He said: “These serious questions cannot simply be brushed aside.”

Former DUP leader Donaldson is in custody awaiting sentencing following his conviction for serious sexual offences against children.

Subsequent media reports have raised questions about how much was known about Donaldson’s wider conduct in the period prior to his 2024 arrest over sex abuse allegations.

Some reports have contained claims that Donaldson was allegedly engaged in behaviour in his private life that, although legal, was at odds with positions he adopted publicly.

Current DUP leader Gavin Robinson has pledged that the independent review he has commissioned into Donaldson “won’t leave any stone unturned”.