Lady Eleanor Donaldson's Police Statement
Lady Eleanor Donaldson informed police that her husband, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, declined to discuss an incident where she entered a room and found him with one of the two alleged victims involved in the ongoing sex abuse trial.
Complainant B previously testified at Newry Crown Court that Lady Donaldson had witnessed Sir Jeffrey touching her breasts but did not comment and left the scene.
During a police interview following her arrest in 2024, Lady Donaldson stated that both individuals were fully clothed but described the encounter as an "unexplained situation."
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader, denies 18 charges of sexual abuse allegedly committed between 1985 and 2008. Lady Donaldson denies five charges of aiding and abetting the alleged offenses.
The alleged offenses against the two complainants reportedly occurred when they were children.
Lady Donaldson is undergoing a trial of the facts after being previously deemed unfit for a conventional trial on mental health grounds and is not actively participating in the proceedings.
Details of the Incident and Police Interview
In March 2024, Lady Donaldson told police she saw Sir Jeffrey and Complainant B together in a room.
"I could see they were both standing there, but that was it," Lady Donaldson said.
When asked if they were fully clothed, she replied:
"Absolutely yes there were. I just saw them standing there and that was it and I just literally reversed. I said: 'I'm ready to go.'"
She said Sir Jeffrey told her that he and Complainant B had been "just talking."
Later in the interview, an officer asked if she had considered the possibility that something sexual was occurring.
"I just didn't know, I'll be honest… he never gave me details about anything."
When questioned whether she could see what was happening, Lady Donaldson responded:
"I couldn't see. I didn't see."
She added that the situation "didn't sit well with me but I couldn't get anywhere with it," describing it as an "unexplained situation." She also stated:
"I never got to the bottom of that and I was told not to ask a question anymore because it was dealt with."
Lady Donaldson said she raised the matter with her husband, who dismissed it.
"I asked Jeffrey about it and he just dismissed it."
She further revealed that years later she learned Sir Jeffrey had sought Complainant B's forgiveness at a meeting in Armoy but was never informed of the reason.
"No matter how many times I brought that up it was never disclosed to me," she said.
"That's in the past and it's been dealt with," her husband told her.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's Police Interview
On Tuesday morning, the jury of seven men and five women heard the final part of Sir Jeffrey's police interview.
In the interview, he stated that a letter he wrote to Complainant A was not an apology for sexual abuse.
The trial previously heard that in 2020, Sir Jeffrey wrote to Complainant A expressing "regret" for the "hurt, pain and distress" he caused her.
Complainant A testified that she believed the letter was an attempt to apologize for the alleged abuse.
However, Sir Jeffrey told police:
"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 claimed the letter related to "remorse about other things."
Sir Jeffrey also denied admitting to abusing Complainant A when confronted by her in the presence of her husband.
During the interview, the officer suggested that Sir Jeffrey nodded in agreement when Complainant A asked if he had abused her.
>"She has never said to me you did this or that to me," he said.
When asked if she had asked whether he sexually abused her, Sir Jeffrey replied:
"Not to my recollection. No."
He was asked if he believed Complainant A and her husband were lying.
"I'm saying that their recollection of the conversation is different from mine."
Allegations and Charges
Both complainants reported their allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in March 2024.
Sir Jeffrey denies charges of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A, alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2008 when she was a child.
Other alleged offenses, including a charge of rape dating back to 1985, involve Complainant B, who was also a child at the time. Sir Jeffrey denies these allegations as well.
