Jeffrey Donaldson has made his first court appearance in Northern Ireland on sexual offence charges amid a heavy security presence.
The former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader is scheduled to appear at Newry magistrates court in County Down on Wednesday morning to face allegations of sexual abuse against two people.
It will be the first time the 61-year-old has been seen in public since 28 March when he was arrested and questioned along with a 57-year-old woman.
The Lagan Valley MP resigned as DUP leader the next day, causing a political earthquake in Northern Ireland. Under bail conditions Donaldson moved to his flat in London, while the co-accused was bailed to her home in County Down.
Donaldson denies the allegations and has remained an MP but that has not averted a stunning downfall for unionism’s dominant figure. The DUP suspended him and appointed the East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson as interim leader.
Police are expected to be out in force around the courthouse, which has provided additional seating for the press in expectation of national and international media interest.
The hearing is the first step in what could be a lengthy legal process – not helped by a backlog of cases in the courts – that will continue into next year. It is not clear if prosecutors are ready to formally press charges or whether Donaldson and his co-accused will be required to enter a plea. The magistrates court may refer the case to the crown court, which hears more serious cases.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said a complaint in early March prompted the investigation that led to Donaldson’s arrest.
In February Donaldson had won widespread praise and bolstered his authority by agreeing a deal with Downing Street on post-Brexit trading arrangements that ended a two-year DUP boycott of power sharing and revived the Stormont executive and assembly. He had been expected to lead his party into the general election.
Born into a Presbyterian family in the fishing village of Kilkeel, Donaldson was a full-time political activist from the age of 18. In the 1980s he ran the constituency office of Enoch Powell, the former Conservative MP who had defected to the Ulster Unionist party (UUP), and worked for the then UUP leader, James Molyneaux.
Donaldson inherited Molyneaux’s Lagan Valley seat in 1997. He opposed the 1998 Good Friday agreement, seeing it as a sellout to the IRA, and in 2004 joined the DUP. Polished media performances softened Donaldson’s hardline image.
