Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has stepped down as the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party after facing ‘allegations of a historical nature’.
The 61-year-old, who took on the leadership position in June 2021, also appeared to have removed all his social media accounts and his official website earlier today.
Gavin Robinson, the MP for Belfast East, had been unanimously selected as interim leader, as stated by the DUP.
A 57-year-old woman has been accused of aiding and abetting additional offenses in relation to the same police investigation.
Sir Jeffrey, Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, took on the leadership of the party after Edwin Poots resigned after just a month in the role.
His resignation will destabilize Northern Irish politics after a brief two months of apparent stability.
He played a significant role in preventing the establishment of the Northern Ireland Executive for almost two years in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements. The body eventually formed at the end of January this year, with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as first minister and Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP as deputy first minister. The DUP reported receiving a letter from Sir Jeffrey indicating that he had been charged with historical allegations and that he would be stepping down as leader.
A statement from the DUP released this afternoon said: ‘In line with the Party Rules, the Party Officials have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process.
‘The party officers have this morning unanimously appointed Mr Gavin Robinson MP as the interim party leader.’
During the night, Mr Donaldson’s website and social media accounts, including on X, Facebook and Instagram, were removed.
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Sir Jeffrey is Northern Ireland’s longest-serving Member of Parliament.
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