Donaldson Tells Police He Did Not Sexually Abuse Complainants and Denies Apology in Final Interview Segment Played at Trial
At Newry Crown Court, jurors listened to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson state that a 2020 letter to one complainant was not an apology for sexual abuse. Lady Eleanor Donaldson, deemed unfit for trial, faces a trial of the facts on five aiding-and-abetting charges.
BBC NewsOn Tuesday the jury of seven men and five women at Newry Crown Court heard the final segment of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s police interview. In that recording he told officers that a 2020 letter he sent to Complainant A was not an apology for sexual abuse. The letter expressed “regret” for “hurt, pain and distress” caused to Complainant A.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson also denied that he had nodded in agreement when Complainant A confronted him in the presence of her husband. ” When asked whether Complainant A had asked if he had sexually abused her, he replied: “Not to my recollection. ” He added that any difference in accounts reflected differing recollections of the same conversation.
The 18 charges against Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, which include one count of rape, are alleged to have occurred between 1985 and 2008 against two complainants when both were children. He denies all charges, including acts of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A between 1999 and 2008. Lady Eleanor Donaldson, arrested in 2024, denies five charges of aiding and abetting.
She was later deemed unfit to stand trial on mental-health grounds and therefore faces a trial of the facts without participating in proceedings. In March 2024, Lady Eleanor Donaldson told police she had entered a room and seen Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Complainant B standing together. She said both were fully clothed.
“I could see they were both standing there, but that was it,” she told officers. She said she reversed and stated she was ready to leave. ” Lady Eleanor Donaldson said she later asked her husband about the incident.
“He would not talk about it,” she told police. ” Years afterward she learned that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had asked Complainant B for forgiveness at a meeting in Armoy, but she said she was never told the reason.
She said she had no awareness of allegations made by Complainant A. “I’ve never been party or seen anything like that,” she stated. ” Both complainants reported their allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in March 2024.
The trial continues.
