The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) may be damaged beyond repair by continuing revelations concerning disgraced former leader Jeffrey Donaldson, an ex-adviser has said. Donaldson is in custody awaiting sentencing after being convicted last week of serious sexual offences against children. On Monday, a jury of seven men and five women at Newry Crown Court unanimously found the 63-year-old guilty of 18 sexual offences, including one count of rape, against two women when they were children.
Questions over DUP awareness
Subsequent media reports have raised questions about how much was known within the DUP about Donaldson’s wider conduct in the period prior to his 2024 arrest over sex abuse allegations. Questions have been raised around whether there was an awareness that he was allegedly engaged in behaviour in his private life that, although legal, was very much at odds with positions he adopted publicly. BBC Spotlight has reported that some senior DUP figures were aware of another woman, who was not involved in the recent court case, who had raised concerns about Donaldson’s behaviour but had not wished to make a formal complaint.
Spotlight has also reported that two senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers observed Donaldson entering a sauna in London that marketed itself as a meeting place for gay men in 2006 – despite the politician referring to homosexuality as “sinful” in the same year.
DUP announces independent review
In a statement on Friday night, the DUP announced a “specialised and detailed independent review into a number of issues arising” following Donaldson’s conviction. It said that party leader Gavin Robinson, deputy leader Michelle McIlveen and party chairman Lord Morrow are “deeply concerned” by allegations that have surfaced in recent days. They were also said to be concerned that some may have had knowledge of inappropriate behaviour which was never reported to party officers.
Former DUP special adviser David Graham indicated it will be hard to rebuild trust amid a “drip feed of negativity”. “The DUP have had some significant political crises in the last 20 years, this blows them all out of the water, and by some distance,” he told BBC Northern Ireland’s Sunday Politics programme. “I think that this is damaging to the point of potentially beyond repair.”
He went on: “I genuinely don’t think anyone within the party was aware of the reasons for Jeffrey Donaldson’s conviction but I also think that the challenge for the DUP moving forward is the drip feed of negativity”, referring to former senior party members indicating they knew about Donaldson’s lifestyle.
Sympathy for Robinson but questions remain
Mr Graham said he has a “degree of sympathy for Mr Robinson” who he feels has “played this with a straight bat”, but questioned “deafening silence” from others. “The issue is that the more questions you ask, you’re not getting answers, you’re getting more questions,” he added. He also cautioned that public trust in the DUP has “deteriorated so much” that it may be “very difficult” for the review to land amid “questions of how independent it is, how trustworthy it is, and actually has it got to the bottom of any issues if there are any issues”.
“The DUP are not good at enacting recommendations, Peter Robinson did an independent review of the party five years ago at least, perhaps more. I think that those recommendations were running into the hundreds, and I think from what I can gather those recommendations and the report have gathered dust,” he said.
Opposition calls for transparency
Also appearing on Sunday Politics, Stormont Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole described a “very significant moment”. “The first thing to say is that our thoughts are with the victims of Jeffrey Donaldson who have been so brave and courageous,” the SDLP leader said. In terms of the review, Mr O’Toole said it needs to be made clear exactly what action was taken in terms of complaints or allegations made, and what steps were followed. He also called for a review of Northern Ireland’s defamation laws, and urged the DUP to be “humble and honest” about some of the revelations.
“I don’t care bluntly whether someone is gay or what their sexuality is, or whether Jeffrey Donaldson goes into a gay sauna, but it is a grotesque hypocrisy whenever we have revelations like this at the same time as the DUP were blocking equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples and when they were blocking sex education in our schools,” he said. “That cannot go on, and that is something the DUP is going to have to think about.”
