Donaldson tells trial letter to alleged victim 'absolutely not' about abuse

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has taken the witness stand at his trial on sex abuse charges.

He was called to give evidence by his defence barrister Kieran Vaughan KC.

Vaughan asked him if he accepted any of the abuse claims made by two women and Sir Jeffrey replied: "No".

Sir Jeffrey, 63, denies 18 sex abuse charges, allegedly committed between 1985 and 2008.

The trial is in its third week.

There are two alleged victims in the trial, both of whom reported their allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in March 2024.

The trial previously heard that in 2020, Sir Jeffrey wrote to one of the victims, Complainant A, expressing "regret" for the "hurt, pain and distress" he had caused her.

In her evidence, the woman said she thought the letter was an attempt to "apologise" for the alleged abuse.

Vaughan asked Sir Jeffrey to read extracts to the jury at Newry Crown Court.

The lawyer then asked him if it was a reference to the alleged abuse.

Sir Jeffrey replied: "Absolutely not.

"I would never have done anything of that nature. This was not the reason why this letter was written."

Later, Vaughan asked about the rape allegation made by Complainant B.

Sir Jeffrey replied: "It just didn't happen. I am absolutely crystal clear about that.

"It is just simply not true."

He described as "unbelievable" the allegation that he "played" with Complainant B's breasts and that his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, had witnessed it and walked away.

He said he recalled them being together talking, but nothing could be misconstrued for what has been claimed.

He told the court: "The idea I was standing there with a child with her clothes pulled up and feeling her chest… and my wife walked in and saw this and just walked out again is unbelievable.

"She would have been very angry and intervened immediately because that is the nature of my wife… there is no situation where that happened."

The trial previously heard about a meeting at a Christian Centre in Armoy in the 1990s between Complainant B and Sir Jeffrey, at which she claimed he had apologised.

Sir Jeffrey recalled it having been a short meeting, also attended by Davey and Linda Hoy, who ran the centre.

He said he "embraced" Complainant B and said he was sorry if she had ever felt "uncomfortable or unhappy" about him.

He said the meeting had been "a very positive experience" for him.

Vaughan asked Sir Jeffrey was any allegation of sexual abuse mentioned or put to him.

"No, not ever," he replied.

"The word allegation wasn't even mentioned at that meeting. There would have been no reason for it to be put to me."

Vaughan also asked Sir Jeffrey about an alleged incident involving Complainant A who has claimed he had kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth.

"Why would I just kiss a child using my tongue?

"That is just ridiculous... that just did not ever happen," Sir Jeffrey said.

Sir Jeffrey described his and Lady Donaldson's arrest at 06:00 GMT on 28 March 2024 as "a complete shock".

He added: "We had no idea this was coming. None."

He said one minute he was asleep, the next he was standing in the hall with a police officer.

The couple were then taken for questioning at Antrim police station.

"I had never been to a police station in my life as a suspect. It was completely new to me," he stated.

Sir Jeffrey also told the court that a brief extra-marital affair in London in 2008 had caused his wife "hurt and pain" and that he would regret it "until my dying day".

He said life in politics, as an MP, had been "all consuming" and it had caused "tensions" in his marriage.

He said Lady Donaldson struggled with her mental health.

The court also heard about an episode in which she placed a listening device in his car in 2020, after the discovery of texts between him and a constituent.

He was confronted with a recording, which he described as "flirtatious in nature".

Sir Jeffrey denies acts of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A when she was a child, between 1999 and 2008.

Other alleged offences, dating back to 1985, including a charge of rape, relate to a second woman, Complainant B, when she was also a child, which he also denies.

His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson denies five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending.

Lady Donaldson faces a trial of the facts after she was previously deemed unfit to face a conventional trial on mental health grounds, and is therefore not participating in proceedings.