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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has been accused of lying and described as “sinful and deceitful” during his ongoing sexual abuse trial. He denies all 18 charges against him, including one count of rape, which allegedly took place between 1985 and 2008. Throughout nearly ten hours of testimony over two days, Sir Jeffrey asserted that the two women accusing him of abuse in their childhood are not telling the truth. At the conclusion of his evidence, the prosecution barrister, Rosemary Walsh KC, confronted him directly, stating: “The only person telling lies is you. You were sinful and deceitful.” Sir Jeffrey responded to this with a firm denial.
The trial, now in its third week, involves two complainants known as Complainant A and Complainant B. Much of the evidence has focused on a meeting in the late 1990s between Sir Jeffrey and Complainant B at the Christian Family Centre in Armoy. This meeting was arranged by Davey Hoy, one of the centre’s founders, after the complainant disclosed the alleged abuse to a pastor. Rosemary Walsh suggested that Sir Jeffrey attended to “nip in the bud” the allegations made against him. However, Sir Jeffrey disputed this, claiming he went willingly and was unaware that the meeting concerned those accusations. He insisted, “I was not worried about going. I went willingly,” and repeatedly denied having knowledge of the real purpose of the gathering.
During the meeting, Sir Jeffrey acknowledged apologizing to Complainant B, but stated that it was an apology “if I had ever made her feel uncomfortable about me,” rather than an admission of any wrongdoing. He maintained that no allegations were raised in that session, describing it as a short meeting that ended with an embrace and was attended by Davey Hoy and his wife, Linda. The court previously heard from the Hoys, with Linda recalling that Complainant B cried during the meeting as she expressed forgiveness. When questioned about this, Sir Jeffrey said he did not remember the tears, only the embrace. Walsh accused him of “taking control” of the meeting by immediately acknowledging the situation and apologizing, but he denied this, saying he did not assert that he knew what it was about.
The barrister further questioned Sir Jeffrey about disclosures made by Complainant B to other individuals, including the Hoys’ daughter Claire Selfridge and Christian pastor Stephen Matthews. Sir Jeffrey stated he was unaware of these meetings and denied the allegations. He repeatedly insisted the accusations made by both complainants are untrue, expressing confusion as to why they contacted the police simultaneously. During cross-examination, Walsh suggested Sir Jeffrey had behaved inappropriately towards Complainant A, but he strongly refuted such claims, denying touching her or using a light to look at her genitals. Additionally, Sir Jeffrey rejected accounts that Complainant A had ever confronted him about the abuse, stating: “That did not happen.”
Aside from denying charges related to gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A, Sir Jeffrey also denies all allegations relating to Complainant B, which include charges dating back as far as 1985. Meanwhile, his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offenses. However, she is currently not participating in the trial after being found unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds; instead, she faces a separate trial of the facts. The proceedings continue at Newry Crown Court, with the prosecution and defense presenting their cases in a highly charged and closely watched trial
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