Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has stepped down as the leader of the
Democratic Unionist Party after being charged with ‘allegations of an historical nature’. The 61-year-old, who became leader in June 2021, also appeared to have deleted all his
Social Media accounts and his official website earlier today. Gavin Robinson, the MP for Belfast East, had been unaminously appointed interim leader, the DUP said in a statement. Sir Jeffrey, Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, stepped up to lead the party following the resignation of Edwin Poots after just a month in the role. He played a prominent role in blocking the formation of the Northern
Ireland Executive for almost two years in protest over post-Brexit trading arrangements. The body finally 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. A statement from the DUP released this afternoon said: ‘In accordance with the Party Rules, the Party Officials have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process.’ This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk . Or you can submit your videos and pictures here . For more stories like this, check our news page . Follow Metro.co.uk on
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