Jeffrey Donaldson: consequential figure in four-decade political career before arrest

Trial of Jeffrey Donaldson for alleged sex offences to begin in Newry

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, stands trial at Newry crown court on 18 sex offence charges spanning 21 years, while his wife Eleanor faces a simultaneous trial of facts after being ruled mentally unfit to stand trial. His March 2024 arrest forced his resignation, destabilised the Stormont executive, cost the DUP his Westminster seat, and left the party heading into next year's assembly elections with weakened political capital.