Sinn Féin has called on Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots to stand aside pending a DUP investigation into claims of inappropriate behaviour by Jeffrey Donaldson. The call came during a Northern Ireland Assembly sitting on Tuesday, as Sinn Féin Chief Whip Sinéad Ennis raised serious questions about Mr Poots' role in handling concerns raised by a woman about Donaldson's conduct.
Background to the controversy
Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted last week of 18 sex offences, including one count of rape, relating to the abuse of two women when they were children. Subsequent media reports have raised questions about how much was known within the DUP about Donaldson’s wider conduct before his arrest in 2024.
BBC Spotlight reported that some senior DUP figures were aware of another woman, not involved in the recent court case, who had raised concerns about Donaldson’s behaviour but did not wish to make a formal complaint. Former North Antrim MP Ian Paisley said he told Mr Poots, then DUP leader and now Stormont Speaker, about the woman's concerns.
Sinn Féin's demands in the Assembly
Ms Ennis told MLAs: “Revelations over recent days that members of the DUP, including the Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots, had knowledge of the exploitation of a young woman by the now convicted paedophile Jeffrey Donaldson raises serious questions for the DUP.” She added that even if there were no criminal or safeguarding issues, there was “clearly knowledge of inappropriate behaviour” that was not passed to party officers, allowing Donaldson to be elevated to the leadership.
“This is at best a gross misjudgment by the Speaker, at worst it is a fundamental and disastrous moral failure,” Ms Ennis said. She called for Mr Poots to “stand aside pending the full disclosure of all of the issues and any and all knowledge of them within the DUP about inappropriate behaviour before and during Donaldson’s time as DUP leader.”
Edwin Poots' response
On Monday, Mr Poots told the Assembly that there was “nothing of a criminal or safeguarding nature raised” in the woman's concerns. He said he had asked the chief executive of the Assembly to carry out an investigation relating to Donaldson’s actions as an MLA. When asked if the investigation would also look at his own actions, Mr Poots replied: “I don’t have anything to answer for because I did not engage in any misbehaviour of any kind.” He added: “Recusing myself is not something that is necessary at this point, because there is nothing to answer for.”
DUP leader's acknowledgment
Current DUP leader Gavin Robinson said on Monday that “it is clear” there are former and current DUP members who had information about Donaldson’s conduct that was not shared with the party. The DUP is commissioning an independent review into issues raised since Donaldson was convicted.
