Former DUP leader charged with rape at party offices in Westminster

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The jailed former leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, Jeffrey Donaldson, is facing a new allegation that he raped a woman inside the DUP’s Westminster offices in 2016.

Donaldson, who last week received a 15-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting two girls, is serving his punishment in an isolated wing for sex offenders in Northern Ireland’s Maghaberry Prison. Donaldson — who is tentatively scheduled for release by 2033 after serving half of his sentence — is appealing his conviction on 18 counts, including one of rape.

The Metropolitan Police in London said Wednesday it has opened its own investigation after receiving an evidence file from Police Service of Northern Ireland detectives, who interviewed the woman on October 13.

The Met’s statement specified the case as “an allegation of rape” and identified the suspect only as “a man now aged 63,” in keeping with English legal practice that suspects are not named unless charged.

“The allegation relates to one victim who is being supported by specialist officers,” the force said. “The investigation is in its early stages. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.”

The 2016 allegations against Donaldson first surfaced in July when the Belfast Telegraph reported an interview with a woman who claimed Donaldson had plied her with vodka shots inside the DUP’s parliamentary offices in London, before trying to kiss her and put his hand up her skirt.

The Belfast Telegraph reported that Donaldson had given the woman a tour of the Houses of Parliament, introduced her to senior MPs and lords, and taken her to dinner inside the MPs’ dining room before the alleged assault.