Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has stepped down as the Democratic Unionist Party’s leader with ‘immediate effect’ after being charged with ‘allegations of an historical nature’
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has quit as DUP leader after being charged by police with “allegations of an historical nature”.
He has been suspended by the party and stepped down with immediate effect. DUP MP Gavin Robinson has been appointed the interim party leader.
In a statement, the DUP said: “The Party Chairman has received a letter from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP confirming that he has been charged with allegations of an historical nature and indicating that he is stepping down as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party with immediate effect.
“In accordance with the Party Rules, the Party Officers have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process.
“The Party Officers have this morning unanimously appointed Mr Gavin Robinson MP as the interim Party Leader.”
In 2021, Sir Jeffrey became leader of the DUP without an election after weeks of turmoil for the Northern Irish party. He has served as MP for Lagan Valley in Northern Ireland since 1997. Before being made DUP leader, he had been leader of the party in Westminster since 2019.
At 18, Sir Jeffrey became a full-time political activist after serving in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). He later ran the constituency office of Tory MP Enoch Powell, before working for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader James Molyneaux. He rejected parts of the Good Friday agreement in 1998, and confirmed he’d switched to the DUP in 2004.
The DUP has been a thorn in Rishi Sunak’s side through their opposition to his Brexit deal. Sir Jeffrey came out in fierce opposition to the Windsor Framework when the PM first unveiled it last year.
Power sharing in Northern Ireland resurrected in February, after the DUP ended a two-year political paralysis at Stormont. The party gave the green light for the recall of the Stormont Assembly on the back of a deal addressing its concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements. Sir Jeffrey warned he will hold the Government’s “feet to the fire” on delivering the deal.
