Sir Jeffrey Donaldson: 'No contact' between DUP and former leader

The interim DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said there has been "no contact on a party basis whatsoever" with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

Sir Jeffrey resigned as Democratic Unionist leader on 29 March, after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences.

He has said he will strenuously contest the allegations.

Speaking on Radio Ulster's Talkback programme, Mr Robinson said Sir Jeffrey currently holds no role within the DUP.

He said he did not know if party colleagues had been in contact with Sir Jeffrey on a personal basis.

Mr Robinson also said he does not know if his predecessor will resign his Lagan Valley Westminster seat, which would bring about a by-election, but said the DUP is searching for a different candidate for the seat in the event of a general election.

He said he found out about the allegations against Sir Jeffrey the evening before they became public.

The East Belfast MP said the DUP "recognised that our shock would be replicated right throughout communities, in individual homes right throughout Northern Ireland.

"But Gavin Robinson the person, or myself as an individual, that's quite irrelevant in the situation in the sense that we collectively put ourselves forward to give leadership, to give hope, to give vision to the communities we're honoured to represent.

"So you have to set aside some of the [personal] thoughts, some of those feelings and say there might be some weight on my shoulders now, but I have big broad shoulders."

Those hoping to get the inside story on Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's sudden departure from the DUP will be disappointed, but not surprised, by what they heard from Gavin Robinson.

The party's interim leader was never going to divulge details of those sensitive conversations on the night Sir Jeffrey was charged and quit as DUP leader.

But he did reveal that contact had to be made to get an understanding of what had happened, though there wasn't much "toing and froing".

In other words, a call was made.

He said it quickly became clear that the prospect of Sir Jeffrey staying on as party leader was "unsustainable".

The party had to "grasp that nettle", he said.

Mr Robinson also revealed that all political links between Sir Jeffrey and the party he once led had been cut, though he added he could not speak for some of his colleagues who may have maintained a personal link with the former leader.

For the first time we learned that the DUP is actively searching for a candidate to contest the Westminster election in Lagan Valley, a seat still being held by Sir Jeffrey as an independent MP.

Mr Robinson said he had spoken to former DUP leaders Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster since becoming interim leader.

He said the past 10 days had been difficult, but added: "Its not a DUP story, it's not a story about me or anyone else within the party."

He said party supporters "recognise that we have done what we can do under the circumstances and we are moving forward with our job, which is to represent Northern Ireland.

"There's an opportunity for us to come together and move forward very purposefully."

Earlier, DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she was "absolutely determined to provide what stability I can" to ensure that the Northern Ireland Executive can continue in a positive tone.

"We have an important number of weeks coming up where we'll be discussing the programme for government and the budget," she said.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, of Sinn Féin, said it was "business as usual as far as the executive is concerned".

They were speaking after the first full in-person meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh since 2016.

A 57-year-old woman has been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the offences Sir Jeffrey is charged with.

Both are due to appear in court this month.

Last week Mr Robinson - who is also the East Belfast MP - said he had been engaging with colleagues and that the previous week had been "incredibly difficult and shocking".

But he said the news "should not deflect from the important task we have ahead of us as representatives for unionism and for Northern Ireland".