Donaldson Tells Police 2020 Letter Was Not An Apology For Sexual Abuse — Jury Hears Interview

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has told police that a 2020 letter he sent to one of his accusers, identified in court as Complainant A, should not be interpreted as an apology for sexual abuse. The final section of his March 2024 police interview was played to a jury at Newry Crown Court during his ongoing trial.

The former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party denies 18 historic sexual-offence charges said to have been committed between 1985 and 2008 against two women who were children at the time. Both complainants reported the allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in March 2024.

Prosecutors previously introduced a 2020 letter in which Sir Jeffrey told Complainant A he felt "regret" for the "hurt, pain and distress" she said she had suffered. Complainant A later said she regarded the note as an attempt to apologise for alleged abuse, but Sir Jeffrey rejected that interpretation in interview.

Lady Donaldson arriving to a court hearing in 2025 [PA Media]

"Nowhere in that letter did I indicate, nor was I alluding to, incidents of sexual abuse. None of that is to do with any allegation or any action involving sexual abuse," he told the interviewing officer. He said the letter expressed "remorse about other things."

During questioning, officers asked whether Complainant A had confronted Sir Jeffrey in the presence of her husband and whether he had nodded when asked if he had abused her. He denied both the confrontation and any admission, saying, "Not to my recollection. No," and adding that the couple's recollection of the conversation differed from his.

The jury — seven men and five women — were also played a recorded police interview with Lady Eleanor Donaldson, who denies five counts of aiding and abetting the alleged offending.

Lady Donaldson told officers she had seen Sir Jeffrey and Complainant B together in a room but that both were clothed. "I just saw them standing there and that was it and I just literally reversed. I said: 'I'm ready to go'," she said. When asked whether she had thought anything sexual was taking place, she replied: "I just didn't know, I'll be honest… he never gave me details about anything. He would not talk about it."

She said she later raised the matter with her husband, who dismissed it, and that she learned years afterwards he had asked Complainant B for forgiveness at a meeting in Armoy, although she was never told what the forgiveness related to. "That's in the past and it's been dealt with," she quoted him as saying.

Sir Jeffrey denies charges relating to acts of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A between 1999 and 2008, and a series of older allegations relating to Complainant B — including, the prosecution says, an allegation of rape dating back to 1985 — which he also denies. The trial at Newry Crown Court is ongoing.