Jailed former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson is to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police over an allegation that he raped a woman inside the Houses of Parliament in 2016.
The development was reported by BBC Spotlight on Wednesday. It is understood that the Police Service of Northern Ireland interviewed the woman making the allegation before referring her account to detectives in London, because the incident is alleged to have taken place in the capital. The Times and the PA wire also covered the investigation on Wednesday.
The Met confirmed it had received the referral but did not identify Donaldson, 63, in its statement. The force said the report, referred by the PSNI on Tuesday 13 October, related to an allegation of rape in 2016 by a man now aged 63, concerning one victim who is being supported by specialist officers. "The investigation is in its early stages," the spokesman said. "No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing."
A separate allegation from the convictions
It is important to distinguish the new investigation from the historical offences for which Donaldson was sentenced last week. At Newry Crown Court, he received a 15-year prison sentence for a series of child sex offences against two victims, committed between 1985 and 2008.
He was convicted of 18 offences, including one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency. The 15-year term was made up of 11 years for the rape of one victim and four years for the counts against the other victim, to run consecutively.
Sentencing him, the judge said Donaldson's offences had led to a catastrophic descent into disgrace, adding that he had shown no regret, apology or shame and had doubled down on his denials. Donaldson denied those charges and is seeking to appeal against his convictions. Love Belfast's reporting stresses that the new allegation is separate from those offences, while Brit Brief carries the Met's full statement on the new investigation.
Since his conviction, he has been stripped of his knighthood and removed from the Privy Council. He has been held in Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim since his trial ended in June.
The Laganside Courts building in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Credit: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The woman's account and earlier reporting
The BBC said the woman at the centre of the new allegation is the same person whose account was first reported by the Belfast Telegraph in July. That reporting described an alleged sexual assault in the DUP's Westminster offices in 2016, involving claims of vodka shots, an attempted kiss and a hand placed up her skirt.
According to the BBC, when its journalists put questions to Donaldson's representatives, it emerged that the same woman also alleges rape — the claim that the PSNI has now passed to the Metropolitan Police. None of the allegations relating to the alleged 2016 incident has been proven in court.
The reported allegation is understood to relate to a single victim. Specialist officers are supporting the woman while detectives make initial enquiries.
The timeline so far
The story has unfolded over several months. In July, the Belfast Telegraph first reported a woman's claim that she had been sexually assaulted by Donaldson in the DUP's Westminster offices in 2016. That report described claims of vodka shots being offered, an attempted kiss and a hand being placed up her skirt.
When BBC journalists later put questions to Donaldson's representatives, it emerged that the same woman was also making a more serious allegation — that she had been raped. It is that allegation which PSNI officers investigated by interviewing the woman, before passing her account to the Metropolitan Police on 13 October because the alleged incident took place in London.
Donaldson's trial for the historical offences concluded in June, and he has been held in Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim ever since. He was convicted that month of the 18 offences spanning more than two decades, and sentenced earlier this month to the 15-year term he is now serving.
The new allegation therefore arrived just days after the conclusion of one of the highest-profile criminal cases in Northern Ireland's recent history. The PSNI has confirmed that the Met is leading the new investigation, and said the alleged victim is being supported by specialist officers while initial enquiries continue.
Neither Donaldson nor his legal representatives have issued a public statement about the new allegation, so far as has been reported. His solicitor has previously confirmed that papers have been lodged for an appeal against his existing convictions.
What happens next
The investigation is now with the Metropolitan Police. Detectives will pursue initial enquiries, with the alleged victim supported by specialist officers throughout — the standard process for serious sexual offence allegations in England and Wales.
Donaldson remains in Maghaberry Prison, where he has been held since his trial ended in June, serving the 15-year sentence imposed earlier this month for the historical offences. His legal team has lodged papers seeking to appeal those convictions.
No timeline has been given for the new investigation, and the Met has said only that enquiries are ongoing. As with any allegation, the presumption of innocence applies: Donaldson has been charged with and convicted of nothing in relation to the alleged 2016 incident.
A dramatic fall
Donaldson, once one of the most recognisable figures in Northern Ireland's politics, led the DUP between 2021 and 2024. He was first elected to Parliament in 1997 as an Ulster Unionist Party MP and later defected to the DUP, playing a prominent role in the party's fortunes at Westminster.
He stood down as DUP leader in March 2024 after being charged with the historical offences that led to last week's sentence. His trial and conviction dominated headlines in Northern Ireland through the summer.
The new investigation will now be handled by the Metropolitan Police, with the PSNI saying the Met is leading the inquiry. The force has faced scrutiny over its handling of high-profile cases in the past year, including the dismissal of a volunteer chief after a Palantir probe — while at Westminster, MPs have been pressing for inquiries into how institutions handle misconduct claims.
As with any allegation, the presumption of innocence applies: Donaldson has been charged with and convicted of nothing in relation to the alleged 2016 incident, and the investigation is at an early stage. Further coverage of Westminster and Northern Ireland politics continues in our Politics section and on the Verity homepage. You can read more about our editorial standards on the about page.
