Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has resigned from his post after being charged with historical sexual offenses. A woman, 57, was also charged with aiding and abetting with regard to the alleged offenses. The two were arrested on Thursday morning and questioned before being charged and are set to appear in court in April. The DUP party officers have suspended Donaldson from the party under party rules, with Mr. Gavin Robinson MP being appointed the Interim Party Leader.
Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, Sir Jeffrey was elected leader of the DUP in 2021 and recently steered his party back into government in Northern Ireland, ending a two-year boycott of the Stormont institutions. Donaldson went on to claim that the post-Brexit arrangements had undermined their place in the UK leading to the party walking out of government in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In a statement, the DUP said, “The Party Chairman has received a letter from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP confirming that he has been charged with allegations of an historical nature and indicating that he is stepping down as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party with immediate effect.” The arrests also led to the removal of Sir Jeffrey’s social media accounts.
The statement issued by the police on Friday morning did not disclose the identity of those charged. It said a 61-year-old man had been charged with “non-recent sexual offenses”, while a 57-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with “aiding and abetting additional offenses”. They are set to appear before the Newry Magistrates’ Court in April
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