Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after being charged with historical sex offences.
The DUP confirmed on Friday that Sir Jeffrey had been charged with “allegations of a historical nature” and had been suspended from the party.
The 61-year-old Lagan Valley MP is due to appear in court in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, on April 24.
A 57-year-old woman has also been charged with aiding and abetting additional offences in relation to the same police investigation.
The DUP said they had received a letter from Sir Jeffrey stating he had been charged with historical sex offences and would be stepping down as party leader.
The party said in a statement, “In accordance with the party rules, the party officers have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process.”
Return to Powersharing in Northern Ireland
The announcement comes nearly two months after Sir Jeffrey brought the DUP back into powersharing in Northern Ireland.The party had boycotted Northern Ireland’s political institutions over post-Brexit trading measures that required goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to be checked on arrival, effectively creating a border in the Irish Sea.
In 2022, Sir Jeffrey collapsed the executive, believing the government was not responding fast enough to the party’s concerns.
Following negotiations, Westminster and the DUP agreed to a new deal which created assurances around the country’s constitutional position within the UK, resulting in the party agreeing to return to Stormont in February.
“This package, I believe, safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the Union and will restore our place within the UK internal market,” he said in January.
Almost 40 Years in Politics
Sir Jeffrey is the longest-serving MP in Northern Ireland and became party leader in July 2021 following the resignation of Edwin Poots.In 1985 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly. At the age of 22, he was the youngest person to gain a seat in Stormont.
Initially a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), he was a senior member of the party’s negotiating delegation for the Good Friday Agreement. In 1998, he led a walkout of the talks after opposing the early release of loyalist and republican prisoners.
He, along with Arlene Foster, had opposed the release of paramilitary prisoners, the Good Friday Agreement, and the direction in which UUP leader David Trimble was taking the party.
Sir Jeffrey and Ms. Foster left the UUP in 2004 to join the DUP.
Future of Powersharing
The DUP’s interim leader, Mr. Robinson, is a political ally of Sir Jeffrey and a backer of the party’s return to Stormont and powersharing. If his position is made permanent, there is unlikely to be a change in the DUP’s support for continuing powersharing.Reacting to the change in leadership, Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland first minister and Sinn Fein vice president, said, “My priority is to continue to provide the leadership the public expect and deserve, and to ensure the four-party executive coalition delivers for the whole of our community now and in the future.”
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said: “We note the appointment of an interim leader of the DUP.
“We will continue to work with all parties to ensure the full and effective functioning of the Good Friday Agreement institutions.”
