The first thing to remember, for your own sake as well as the sake of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, is that the now former DUP leader Is Innocent. Because he’s been charged with rape and “other historical sexual offences” doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything.
But the fact that he was arrested and charged will make it very difficult for him to come back to lead the DUP, even if he does emerge innocent of all charges. These things, once used to accuse, have a nasty habit of sticking to those at whom they’re targeted. There are still people who will mutter that the Birmingham Six may have been declared innocent but that there’s no smoke without fire, is there, mutter mutter mutter. I detest that kind of unproven smear, regardless of who its target is.
Given that the charges against Jeffrey are ‘historical’, the claim must be that they happened fado fado – some time back. How can evidence from that far back be validated? With great difficulty, I’d think. More interesting if not more answerable questions are , why now and who benefits?
Well, if we consider who led the charge against Jeffrey ‘s acceptance of the Windsor Framework, and went on leading that charge even after Jeffrey led his troops back into the Assembly, we might have some idea of who may derive political advantage from Jeffrey’s fall. Step forward the good Lord Dodds, Sammy Wilson and Jim Allister. All three were vocal in their condemnation of those who’d accept the Windsor Framework, given that NEI was still subject to EU laws. Now the man who led the DUP back into Stormont and accepted the Windsor Framework is charged with appalling crimes.
And why are these accusations being levelled now, when they happened years ago? If you were a victim of such crime, would you not be shouting from the rooftops immediately, not decades later? What is at the back of the timing of these accusations?
crying “Crime!” have a motive, just as the perpetrator has a motive. In this case, whether intended or not, the charges against the DUP leader have resulted in massive damage to the DUP. Whoever it was that released information which culminated in Jeffrey being charged had probably their eye on non-acceptance of the Windsor Framework. Jeffrey, as the leader of those who accepted the border arrangements and led the troops back into Stormont, was in that sense necessary collateral damage. They may even have murmured as they pulled the trigger “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”
This could well bring down Stormont once again. And once again, the DUP as a party will have shown itself to be as fragmented as a display window that’s been on the receiving end of a large brick.
Unionism before today was in serious trouble, given the demographics shift and the rise of Sinn Féin. The removal of the DUP leader in such a public way and accused of such dreadful crimes leaves that party massively damaged. And probably beyond repair.
Very good jude
Thank you, James…
Le cuidiú Dé.
Jude I think you may have got this wrong in terms of why this has come to pass now. Many victims live with this sort of thing for years before having the courage and support mechanisms in place to allow them to come forward. In many cases it’s to do with family loyalty and fear of damage to the entire family as well as mixed emotions about the alleged perpetrators. Who knows what this case is about. We will find out in due course.
Good points, Patrick. But I think you’re a bit optimistic with your last sentence…
And there’s me thinking we were going to hear about varadkar being stuck in some wee boy in washington DC ,only to be pipped at the post by pervy jeff,intdesting times we are living in
Piaras – if you continue to. comment like this I’ll block you…
I’m devastated jude lol,no worse than your comments on Naomi Long,you auld hypocrite
“ If you were a victim of such crime, would you not be shouting from the rooftops immediately, not decades later?”
An appalling take
You think, Jimmy??
no victims of intrafamilial abuse shout about these crimes from the rooftops….your assertions demonstrate a breathtaking ignorance and lack of either critical thinking or empathy.
No they don’t, Nick – they reveal your opinion of them. Ignorant – of what? Uncritical thinking – about what and how? Empathy – with whom?
The surprising thing (to me anyway) is that he has already been charged with very serious offences, normally a suspect will be questioned and then charges may follow at a later date. I am not a conspiracy theorist (well not really…) but I wouldn’t be surprised if the charges are mysteriously dropped and Jeffrey is retired off to that Protestant PIP palace the House of Lords to join the likes of Foster and Taylor and Hoey. Paid hundreds of pounds a day to sit on their arses and not even having to face a board.
A very well considered and fair article. I am concerned that such laws are passed in response to media hue and cries without nay due consideration for consequences and ramifications with respect to evidence.
If someone accused me of armed robbery in 1980, without any forensics or eye witnesses, the case wouldn’t even make it to court yet when it comes to s*x, it seems there mere word of an accuser is good enough to be charged and worse.
Is this not really worrying to put it mildly? Are all males in the public eye now in serious danger of being charged with something like this? All it takes is for one enemy to pay someone(s) to go to the police with a plausable tale and bang, bang goes the man’s life and career and reputation.
The only equivalent of such a low bar of ‘guilt’ is during the old Diplock courts where all it took to be found guilty of IRA membership was the say so, the mere say so of just one RUC officer.
Better for a guilty man to go free than an innocent man to be jailed.
And why now? Why March and not say Feb or Jan or even any other year for that matter.
This seriously smells. They say noone would be charged unless there’s robust evidence but we all know that’s baloney in a lot of cases. When it comes to s*x, I suspect political and wokeist policing is raring its ugly head. Look what happened Alex Salmond.
One thing’s for sure, years of good living have removed the fire of protest from the bellies of Sammy and Og. How can they support the DUP position on the Protocol? Well they really can not take a chance by moving to the TUV, no guarantee they would retain their rather comfortable seats. Jeffrey supports something they say undermines the position of the north in the UK yet they are totally opposed to it. Unthinkable a few years ago. The English branch of the DUP enjoy their creature comforts. They didn’t happen to resign from Westminster when the home boys packed in Stormont.
Donaldson isn’t the first senior politician to be required to ‘take a break’ at a time when it may be politically significant and convenient for some parties. I refer to, inter alia, media allegations in relation to the (still unnamed) senior southern politico which surfaced circa 1999/2000 and of course the case of the rather strange southern media embrace of allegations made by the grand niece of a very senior IRA figure circa 2014
Jude’s implication that alleged survivors of alleged abuse should immediately ‘shout it from the roof-tops’ is perhaps a mite cack-handed, but his overall analysis is on-the-ball, in my view.
Almost forgot the somewhat unusual of the resignation of another former NI party leader. Apparently brycreme shares took a dive!