Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, will remain free on bail of less than €400, according to a court in the city of Newry that will analyze 11 charges of sexual offenses brought against him by the regional police. His wife, Eleanor, who is also out on bail, is accused of encouraging and collaborating in the commission of the crimes.
Although the identity of the two complainants is known to a large part of Northern Irish society, the opening of police and judicial proceedings has led to the promulgation of an order prohibiting the provision of information that would contribute to their identification. Both Donaldson and his wife have expressed through their lawyers their intention to “vigorously reject” the charges.
The most serious is rape, the second is serious sexual abuse and the remaining nine are sexual assault. They would have been committed over a period of twenty years and, in the version published by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), they would have occurred in a ‘not recent’ time. The case has attracted attention from Irish and foreign media before the court.
A crowd of people waited for Donaldson to leave the jury after the brief court hearing and perhaps they would have lynched him without the intervention of the Police. It is possible that among the agitators there were people close to the complainants. Police officers took the former DUP leader back to the court building, where he then left in a vehicle.
In their first court appearance after their arrest, the judge prohibited the couple from having contact. Donaldson has since resided in a flat in east London, and his wife in the family home, not far from Newry. The judge yesterday allowed them to share a roof, but they cannot contact witnesses for the prosecution.
The announcement of Donaldson’s arrest last Good Friday shook Northern Irish society and the governance of the complex province. Institutions in Belfast and London mobilized to prevent the recently restored edifice of autonomy from collapsing again. The DUP senior council unanimously appointed deputy leader Gavin Robinson as temporary leader that same day.
The Newry court’s decision to summon the defendants to a processing hearing on May 22 suggests that the process may drag on for a few months. Cross-party cooperation in the Belfast Assembly promotes confidence in the resilience of institutions, but the DUP’s internal circumstances are not robust.
Robinson was Donaldson’s right-hand man in negotiating the agreement with the London Government that allowed the restoration of Parliament and the Executive. But what dissident DUP members describe as the ‘Donaldson deal’ has not removed the physical obstacles with the rest of the United Kingdom necessary for the province to remain in the common market.
Customs controls continue and the construction of new border posts at the port of Larne is progressing. In the council of senior officials, without the presence of Donaldson, there is a difference of 6 against 5 in favor of the agreement. And, at some point, the DUP will have to convene the Executive to ratify Robinson as leader.
More tensions between Dublin and London, which collaborate in maintaining Belfast’s autonomy, may emerge following the announcement on Tuesday, by the Irish Government’s Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, that 80% of refugee claimants that Ireland receives comes from the United Kingdom and arrives in Ireland now from the northern province and by road
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