Donaldson ‘regret’ letter ‘nothing to do’ with sex allegations, trial hears
The first week of the ex DUP Leader's trial drew to a close on Friday
By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association
A letter written by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to a woman who has accused him of sexual assault expressing “regret” was “nothing to do” with the allegations, a court has heard.
However, the woman told the trial of the former DUP leader that she believed the letter was an apology for years of alleged abuse.
Donaldson, 63, is on trial at Newry Crown Court accused of rape and several counts of gross indecency and of indecent assault.
The ex-MP has pleaded not guilty to the 18 alleged offences.
The charges span a time period between 1985 and 2008 involving two alleged victims.
Donaldson’s wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.
She is facing a trial of the facts after Judge Paul Ramsey ruled her unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds.
The trial of the facts will test the evidence in the case, but cannot result in a criminal conviction.
Kieran Vaughan KC, barrister for Jeffrey Donaldson, continued his cross-examination of Complainant A, one of the two alleged victims, on Friday.
Donaldson sat in the dock wearing a dark grey suit and yellow tie, occasionally taking notes.
The trial had previously heard that Donaldson had written a letter to Complainant A in 2020 expressing “how much I truly regret all the hurt, pain and distressed I have caused”.
On Friday, the barrister asked the woman why she had not handed the letter to police when she had first been interviewed.
She told the court that she “wasn’t sure it was relevant at the time”.
He said: “Are you suggesting it is relevant or not relevant to the allegations?”
She said: “I think it is very relevant.”
The barrister said the letter had “nothing to do with you and sexual assault” but instead related to other behaviour by Donaldson.
The woman said while the letter did not mention sexual abuse it had “heavy connotations of guilt and shame and asking for forgiveness”.
She added: “I believe that letter is a letter of apology for what he did to me over the years.
“He is a very clever man, he would never write in writing what he had done but he could heavily suggest.”
The trial, which is expected to last between three and four weeks, will resume on Monday.
Jeffrey Donaldson, a former long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, was arrested and charged at the end of March 2024.
He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.
Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into devolved government at Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.