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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest pro-UK party, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with rape and 10 other historical sex offences in a case that has stunned the region and sparked his humiliating exit from local politics.
Donaldson, 61, arrived at Newry magistrates’ court in the company of his lawyer but did not take questions. He has said he will strenuously contest the charges, which allegedly took place between 1985 and 2006 and involved two alleged victims.
The former Democratic Unionist Party leader stood at the back of the small courtroom as Judge Eamonn King read out the charges: one charge of gross indecency towards a child between 2005 and 2006; one count of rape and nine counts of indecent assault.
His wife Eleanor, 58, who faces four charges, including aiding and abetting, was also in court. The couple have been bailed to live at separate addresses with Donaldson in London and his wife in the family home in Northern Ireland but the judge allowed them now to have contact with each other.
The pair sat separately, each flanked by court officers. Donaldson stared straight ahead. He spoke only to say he understood the charges and to confirm his date of birth.
They were not asked to enter a plea.
The hearing lasted eight minutes. Because of the nature of the charges, the case is expected to transfer to the Crown Court. Judge King said the next hearing would be in Newry magistrates’ court on May 22 to discuss the timetable, but the defendants were not required to attend.
Donaldson, who has been an MP at Westminster since 1997, resigned as DUP leader on March 29, a day after being arrested at his home by police and charged.
It was a stunning downfall for a man who had been at the peak of his political power.
At the start of the year, Donaldson had clinched a deal with the UK government to allay his party’s lingering concerns over the Windsor framework deal agreed in February 2023 between the UK and EU.
The concessions he secured in a deal dubbed “Safeguarding the Union” enabled him to end his party’s two-year boycott of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government at Stormont.
Donaldson has not resigned as an MP but DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson confirmed the party was looking for a candidate for the former leader’s Lagan Valley constituency for the UK general election expected later this year.
Donaldson’s exit comes at a difficult time for unionism in Northern Ireland.
The DUP, which long dominated the region’s politics, was pushed into second place by nationalist party Sinn Féin in regional elections in 2022 and had to serve beside a Sinn Féin first minister.
