Skip to content

Jury to be shown recording of Jeffrey Donaldson police interview

News imagePacemaker A man with grey hair, glasses gets out of a car. He is wearing a dark grey suit, a white shirt and and orange and white tie.A man with grey hair, glasses gets out of a car. He is wearing a dark grey suit, a white shirt and and orange and white tie.Pacemaker
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape

The jury in the trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is due to be shown a recording of his police interview when proceedings resume on Monday morning at Newry Crown Court.

Lady Eleanor Donaldson's interview will also be played as the trial enters its third week.

The 63-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape.

His wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson, who faces a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, denies five charges related to aiding and abetting.

She 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.

The offences against the two alleged victims allegedly occurred between 1985 and 2008.

Both complainants in the sex abuse trial reported their allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in March 2024.

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.