�*sinn fein, emma michelle o'neill of sinn fein, emma little pengelly, unionist member of the assembly. he said that that there was conditional on the uk reassuring unionists on northern ireland's links to britain. of course, that suspension had been related to the post—brexit checks on goods from britain entering northern ireland. let's get you right up to date with this breaking piece of news with jennifer date with this breaking piece of news withjennifer o'leary, who joins me from belfast. what more can you tell us at this stage? you're right, it certainly is a major breaking news from northern ireland of seismic political consequences, some might say, but just to reiterate what has happened, sirjeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic unionist party, that is the biggest unionist party in northern ireland, has been charged

with historical sexual offences and has stepped back as dup leader. a57—year—old woman, we can also say, has also been with aiding and abetting in connection with those alleged offences. they were both arrested yesterday morning by psni detectives and questioned before being charged last night. they are due to appear in court from april. police issued this statement this morning, but did not identify, at that stage, who had been arrested and charged. the statement said that and charged. the statement said that a 61—year—old man had been charged with non—recent sexual offences, adding that a 57—year—old woman was also arrested at the same time and charged with aiding and abetting additional offences. and the statement confirmed that the pair would appear in court next month.

and jennifer, viewers in the uk may well be familiar with sirjeffrey donaldson and his prominent political role, but for viewers elsewhere in the world, just recap how significant a figure he is in northern ireland politics. well, sir jeffrey donaldson _ northern ireland politics. well, sir jeffrey donaldson is _ northern ireland politics. well, sir jeffrey donaldson is the _ northern ireland politics. well, sir jeffrey donaldson is the longest i jeffrey donaldson is the longest serving mp elected to parliament from northern ireland. he first entered politics at the age of 22. now, he came to the four in a public way, if you like, when he stepped back from his then party 26 years ago in his opposition to the good friday agreement, the belfast agreement, also referred to as such. but 26 years on, his political career is effectively over, as some would see it.

career is effectively over, as some would see it— would see it. jennifer, for the moment. _ would see it. jennifer, for the moment, thank— would see it. jennifer, for the moment, thank you - would see it. jennifer, for the moment, thank you very - would see it. jennifer, for the l moment, thank you very much. jennifer o'leary therefore us in belfast. ijust want jennifer o'leary therefore us in belfast. i just want to bring jennifer o'leary therefore us in belfast. ijust want to bring you up—to—date with the latest statement and the latest information that we have on this developing story, this breaking story. sirjeffrey donaldson, we are told, has been charged with historical sexual offences and is stepping down as the dup leader. now, the dup is the biggest unionist party in northern ireland, has been a primary partner in all the talks, trying to get back to the power—sharing government in northern ireland, which now has happened, but he is stepping down as dup leader. a 57—year—old woman, we are also told, has been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with alleged offences. both sir jeffrey donaldson and the 57—year—old woman were arrested on thursday morning by detectives from

the police service of northern ireland and were questioned before being charged on thursday night. they are due to appear in court next month, we are told. in a statement from the dup, let mejust recap month, we are told. in a statement from the dup, let me just recap that for you, the party chairman said they had received a letter from sir jeffrey donaldson confirming that he had been charged with allegations of a historical nature and indicating that he was stepping down as leader of the dup with immediate effect. so, in accordance with party rules, the party officers have suspended sirjeffrey donaldson from membership of the party pending the outcome of thatjudicial process and in his place they have appointed gavin robinson mp as interim party leader. now, there is a police statement, a psni statement issued this morning. it didn't disclose the identity of who was charged, but the

statement says, a 61—year—old man has been charged with non—recent sexual offences, adding that he 57—year—old woman was also arrested at the same time and charged with aiding and abetting additional offences. the statement confirmed that both would appear before newry magistrates' court on the 24th of april. and you are looking at here are pictures of stormont, where the northern ireland assembly operates and which was in a political deep freeze for a couple of years until the start of this year, when the dup, underthe the start of this year, when the dup, under the leadership of sir jeffrey donaldson at that point, agreed that it would go back into the power—sharing arrangement, seeking assurances from the government in london, the westminster government about the relationship between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. so, in the wake of this news, we are told that officers from the democratic unionist party have been

meeting in the last few hours after details of these charges emerged. people have noted that sirjeffrey donaldson�*s social media accounts, including on twitter, were deleted overnight. and sirjeffrey donaldson is the longest serving mp in northern ireland. he was elected in 1997 for the constituency of lagan valley and he was an elected of the dup in 2021. -- but he valley and he was an elected of the dup in 2021. —— but he was elected leader of the dup. i'm joined now by professorjohn thom, professor of politics at liverpool university. thank you forjoining us, we have talked on many occasions about northern ireland politics. first, your reaction to this news on the impact this is going to have an on the day northern ireland politics and politics in the uk? obviously it is a hue and politics in the uk? obviously it is a huge shock. _ and politics in the uk? obviously it is a huge shock. jeffrey _ and politics in the uk? obviously it is a huge shock. jeffrey donaldson | is a huge shock. jeffrey donaldson was the most important figure in

unionist politics and has been so for quite some time now, obviously the leader of the democratic unionist party until he stepped down. he was the government figure with his own party, he'sjust taken his party back into stormont, a move hailed by the majority of unionists. he of course was very influential in proposing the good friday agreement. at the time it was signed, 26 years ago today. he quit the ulster unionist party, which he was a very prominent member and in many ways he helped build the democratic unionist party to become the dominant force within unionist politics today. today he is widely respected, sir jeffrey donaldson, he commanded a loss of respect across political divides, many ways, and today the news is a huge shock to his followers and his political opponents. followers and his political opponents-_ followers and his political opponents. followers and his political ouonents. ., , ., , , opponents. and of course, any party, when an incident _ opponents. and of course, any party, when an incident of— opponents. and of course, any party, when an incident of whatever - opponents. and of course, any party, when an incident of whatever nature l when an incident of whatever nature arises, has policies in place to put

in place a replacement. what do we know about gavin robinson, who is now the interim party leader? yes. now the interim party leader? yes, he became — now the interim party leader? yes, he became deputy _ now the interim party leader? 133 he became deputy leader now the interim party leader? 1&1: he became deputy leader of the dup just over a year ago, gavin robinson, and has been seen for some time as a likely successor of sir jeffrey donaldson. there was some question over whether sirjeffrey donaldson was going to stand again westminster, which presumably would be in the autumn, there are questions over that and questions over whether he was going to take a position as deputy first minister, which of course he was also elected to do in the northern ireland assembly in 2022. so sirjeffrey donaldson in many ways had a choice ofjobs. he has been involved in significant moves within northern ireland in recent years. he of course took his party, his party came out of stormont in protest at the eu- came out of stormont in protest at the eu— northern ireland protocol, the eu— northern ireland protocol, the post—brexit trading arrangements, he took his party out and in many ways it was sirjeffrey

donaldson who was the key figure in taking his party back into stormont only six weeks ago. jeffrey donaldson was basically selling the deal then too many unionists who are reluctant to go back into stormont, so he was a figure, is a figure of considerable political influence stop by and they figure incredibly well known in westminster because of all those negotiations what wright all those negotiations what wright all those negotiations you have been talking about. yes, several dup mps, without any disrespect to them, wouldn't be well—known all prominent figures more broadly, but sir jeffrey donaldson was very much the exception. now, his parliamentary party, it should be said, was divided over whatjeffrey donaldson divided over what jeffrey donaldson did divided over whatjeffrey donaldson did in taking the dup back into stormont, but in practice he could do deals. he had the ear of rishi sunak as prime minister, he was well respected across political divides and he will be a hard act for the dup to follow. there is no figure within the dup that has anywhere near the stature thatjeffrey

donaldson had in political terms, so, you know, it is a problem for the party, it is a problem for unionist politics more broadly and of course it is an issue, i think david donaldson has mellowed politically because he was that person who opposed the good friday agreement, but at the time 26 years ago when david trimble, who was party leader at the time, was leading his party down a difficult path to support the good friday agreement, jeffrey donaldson walked out of negotiations, so in many ways, he still was a hardline unionist in lots of ways, but he was a tough negotiator who did command some political respect. you a tough negotiator who did command some political respect.— some political respect. you alluded to the fact, — some political respect. you alluded to the fact, john, _ some political respect. you alluded to the fact, john, and _ some political respect. you alluded to the fact, john, and just - some political respect. you alluded to the fact, john, and just a - to the fact, john, and just a reminder to our viewers who are joining us, this is professorjohn tom, professor of politics at liverpool university i'm talking to just now, you reminded us that the dup party was divided overjeffrey donaldson�*s plan and support for the party going back into power—sharing

in the northern ireland assembly, with him stepping down as leader, is there any implication for the party being involved in that assembly which is just a being involved in that assembly which isjust a couple months ago got back into business? it is obviously — got back into business? it is obviously a _ got back into business? it is obviously a concern - got back into business? it 3 obviously a concern because jeffrey obviously a concern becausejeffrey donaldson was engaged in a sales project almost beyond belief in terms of selling the return to stormont, being up having been opposed to entry into stormont for two years. jeffrey donaldson really took to the airwaves and did the hard sell and also sold it very intently to his party, the return to stormont in recent times. now, his party was divided almost equally and some of the house of commons, the house of commons were divided almost equally as to whether they supported that return to stormont, but in many ways they put faith injeffrey donaldson to get the best possible deal they could. if you look at the dup's representation in the house of

lords, the majority were opposed and remain opposed to returning to stormont, so the fact that sir jeffrey donaldson will remain out of the political picture for the foreseeable future does weaken the forces for those supporting a return to devolved powers sharing in northern ireland. and in that sense, the political implications of what has happened could be serious. gavin robinson is very muchjeffrey donaldson�*s heir apparent, so in terms of the leadership of the dup and the leadership of unionist politics more broadly, there won't be a political change under gavin robinson, but none the less the other all forces of those who are pro—or anti—power—sharing with the windsor framework in place, well, today's events have disturb the equilibrium in that respect. just sta with equilibrium in that respect. just stay with me. — equilibrium in that respect. just stay with me, john —— professorjon tonge, just want to recap for our viewers, if anyone isjoining us, the story we were talking about, sir jeffrey donaldson, who until a short time ago was leader of the democratic unionist party in northern ireland, that is the

biggest unionist party in northern ireland, has stepped down with immediate effect. it follows him being charged with historical sexual offences. a57—year—old woman, we are told, has also been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences. they were both arrested on thursday morning by detectives for the police service of northern ireland and were questioned before being charged on thursday night and are now due to appear in court next month. so, professorjon tonge, just picking up on what you were saying a moment ago, obviously were saying a moment ago, obviously we are now going to be looking out for a statement from the democratic unionist party and statements from other leading politicians involved in the northern ireland assembly who will be obviously looking at the implications of this for the functioning of the assembly? yes, the will. functioning of the assembly? yes, they will. although _ functioning of the assembly? 1&1: they will. although jeffrey donaldson wasn't part of the assembly himself and he nominated instead emma little—pengelly to be

the dup's deputy first minister within the assembly, ultimately the decision making within the dup, it is a top—down party and jeffrey donaldson was obviously at the top of that party, making those decisions. he made pretty clear, over the previous few months, that he wanted his party to return to stormont. now, the fact that he is, his replacement, gavin robinson, is on the same political wavelength helps in terms of the maintenance of devolved power sharing, but nonetheless it does potentially open up nonetheless it does potentially open up a power struggle at the head of the dup between those who are pro a return to stormont and those who remain opposed to it. jeffrey donaldson appeared to be virtually the master of all he surveyed, notwithstanding opposition from his own mps to the return to stormont, in the sense that he commanded respect throughout the party. that is the point aboutjeffrey donaldson, he did command respect across political divides. even though he has left the ulster unionist party more than two decades ago, he still had friends within the

ulster unionist party, even though he defected because of opposition to the good friday agreement. you know, he remained on friendly terms with many members of his former party, including the current leaders. wbt, the current leader of the ulster unionist party —— like doug beattie, the leader of the uup, jeffrey donaldson defined his stature... who can advance the cause of unionism from here on. gavin robinson has huge shoes to fill. his position was untenable, his party has taken the view thatjeffrey donaldson�*s position was untenable because of what was alleged in terms of these charges and longer term, you know, i would see gavin robinson as the next leader of the dup, but it does beg a wider question of the unionism's strategic direction becausejeffrey donaldson was that leader, head and shoulders, above any other unionist

leader, in terms of the love and support of his party, but also in terms of his ability to represent unionism at westminster. {lilia unionism at westminster. ok, professor _ unionism at westminster. ok, professorjon _ unionism at westminster. ok, professorjon tonge, - unionism at westminster. 0k, professorjon tonge, thank you very much for your thoughts on this breaking news today. professorjon tonge there, professor of politics at liverpool university. let me just recap for you what is happening and what we have been hearing in the last few minutes, which is that sir jeffrey donaldson has been charged with historical sexual offences and has stepped down with immediate effect as leader of the democratic unionist party, which is northern ireland's largest unionist party. and this is the initial statement we have from the dup on that suspension of sirjeffrey donaldson. we can be that for you. the dup said... that he has been charged with allegations of the historical nature

and indicating he is stepping down as leader of the democratic unionist party, with immediate effect. the statement continues, in accordance with the party rules, the party's officers have suspended sirjeffrey donaldson from the membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process. we understand thatjeffrey donaldson and a 57—year—old woman, who has been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with these alleged offences, will appear in court next month. and the party officers today have unanimously appointed gavin robinson mp as interim party leader of the dup. well, we can hear now from sam mcbride, who is northern ireland editor of the belfast telegraph newspaper. damn, thank you very much for your time today to talk to us about this breaking story. i professorjon tonge what the implications of all of this might be for the northern ireland assembly, which is still pretty new in terms

of being back to work after that two years of political deepfreeze? yes. years of political deepfreeze? yes, the very complicated _ years of political deepfreeze? ya: the very complicated politics of this are thatjeffrey donaldson had just taken his party back in, lots of his very senior colleagues did not support that move, they were very opposed to that, openly opposed to that, in some cases, so he was not any good position politically. obviously what has happened here is outside the realm of politics, but sense, the sense within the dup right now is that people who were opposed to that move are feeling involvement. this leader has gone, the person they didn't like, and in his place as somebody who is not there in a proper sense, in the sense that he is there on a temporary basis, gavin robinson. gavin robinson is very likely to be the next leader of the dup. he's very capable and has been very highly regarded for a very long time, but he is very firmly tied to jeffrey donaldson in terms of his politics. he is from the same side

of the party, so that doesn't heal this rift, but it does mean there is no immediate prospect of stormont falling, there will be no change in course in terms of the big p political decisions taken by the dup, but this is a party that remains deeply dysfunctional. it has gone through chaos over the last years and this just continues the narrative that it is not a party thatis narrative that it is not a party that is very well run right now. so our that is very well run right now. so your sensor is that, as people absorb the news of these allegations, they will take some time to think about the implications of the absence of sirjeffrey donaldson?— of the absence of sirjeffrey donaldson? ~ ~ , donaldson? well, i think the first implication _ donaldson? well, i think the first implication of _ donaldson? well, i think the first implication of this _ donaldson? well, i think the first implication of this will _ donaldson? well, i think the first implication of this will be - donaldson? well, i think the first implication of this will be what i implication of this will be what happens in lagan valley. so, we know thatjeffrey donaldson is now not the dup leader, we now know he is not even a dup member in that he has been suspended... not even a dup member in that he has been suspended. . ._ been suspended... sorry to interrupt. _ been suspended... sorry to interrupt, sam, _ been suspended... sorry to interrupt, sam, for - been suspended... sorry to interrupt, sam, for our - been suspended... sorry to - interrupt, sam, for our viewers, thatis interrupt, sam, for our viewers, that is jeffrey interrupt, sam, for our viewers, that isjeffrey donaldson's constituency, lagan valley? that that is jeffrey donaldson's constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he constituency, lagan valley? that is, so. he has — constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he has been _ constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he has been the _ constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he has been the mp _ constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he has been the mp there - constituency, lagan valley? that is, so, he has been the mp there for i so, he has been the mp there for decades, he was a very popular mp, but he had been coming under

pressure from the centre ground alliance party and that was going to be a big battleground, regardless of anything that has transpired over the last 2a hours, so now the question is, does he keep that seat until the general election, which could be quite soon and could be almost a year away? or does he resign from parliament? no hint of that yet. if there was a by—election, that would be pretty nightmarish for the dup because not only would they have lost that seat in these very unusual circumstances or rather lost to mp, but it would give a chance for the people who are opposed to them going back to stormont to choose a try to rally to that particular standard. however, evenif that particular standard. however, even if that doesn't happen and we have a general election in a few months' time, these are really awkward positions for the dup now. do they run him as a candidate, do they run somebody else? i mean, that is not a situation this time yesterday that they thought they were going to be in. find yesterday that they thought they were going to be in.— yesterday that they thought they were going to be in. and of course, sam, it were going to be in. and of course, sam. it comes— were going to be in. and of course, sam, it comes at _ were going to be in. and of course, sam, it comes at a _ were going to be in. and of course, sam, it comes at a time _ were going to be in. and of course, sam, it comes at a time of- were going to be in. and of course, sam, it comes at a time of much i sam, it comes at a time of much debate about the relative positions

and strengths of the unionism versus nationalism in northern ireland, even though we now have a sinn fein first minister and the dup deputy first minister and the dup deputy first minister and the dup deputy first minister who, from all appearances, have been working very successfully together in the last couple of months?— successfully together in the last couple of months? absolutely. i mean, if couple of months? absolutely. i mean. if you _ couple of months? absolutely. i mean, if you think _ couple of months? absolutely. i mean, if you think about - couple of months? absolutely. i mean, if you think about this i couple of months? absolutely. i i mean, if you think about this beyond the realm of party politics, jeffrey donaldson was the leader of unionism in northern ireland. he had been in the ulster unionist party, he had then moved back 20 years ago to the dup. he had straddled both of those camps, but he was someone who has wider responsibilities, if you like, within unionism than simply to his own political party and so this is a blow, notjust to the dup, notjust to jeffrey donaldson blow, notjust to the dup, notjust tojeffrey donaldson personally, this is a blow to unionism. unionism has been under immense pressure, it has been under immense pressure, it has made some very bad mistakes in recent years, most obviously around brexit. this is another area in which now unionism finds itself on the back foot trying to find a leader, trying to work out what to do and hopefully, from their

perspective, trying to make up the ground now that they are losing. find ground now that they are losing. and of course, ground now that they are losing. and of course. in — ground now that they are losing. and of course, in his position as leader of course, in his position as leader of the dup and because of the negotiations around brexit in northern ireland's relationship with the rest of the uk, jeffrey donaldson is very well known in london, in westminster. he is obviously also well known in washington as well? absolutely, jeffrey donaldson _ washington as well? absolutely, jeffrey donaldson was _ washington as well? absolutely, jeffrey donaldson was the i washington as well? absolutely, | jeffrey donaldson was the person washington as well? absolutely, i jeffrey donaldson was the person who signed the confidence and supply agreement with theresa may's government. it was he and gavin robinson —— gavin williamson is the chief whips of their parties at that time he sat in front of them and signed that agreement. he has been the heart of the dup since he moved there 20 years ago. he is a big beast at the top of politics, he is notjust beast at the top of politics, he is not just someone who beast at the top of politics, he is notjust someone who got beast at the top of politics, he is not just someone who got to beast at the top of politics, he is notjust someone who got to the top just in the last three years when he got to the top of his party in terms of getting the party leadership. he is somebody who has been a central figure behind the scenes in the dup. evenif

figure behind the scenes in the dup. even if they haven't lost him, to lose him as a leader would be a big thing, but to lose him in these circumstances, if he is gone forever, it is very difficult to calculate the damage at this point. yes, the shock of this, and these are allegations, but the criminal charge on the allegations that are being levelled against him, this is clearly seismic when it comes to the reaction in northern ireland?- reaction in northern ireland? look, i was reaction in northern ireland? look, i was getting _ reaction in northern ireland? look, i was getting messages _ reaction in northern ireland? look, i was getting messages from i reaction in northern ireland? errraz, i was getting messages from people this morning, people who are in the dup, who didn't know what was going on, people who are outside party politics, people who are friends of mine and they were all essentially saying, is this true, can this be true? surely this isn't true? i mean, for any political leader to face allegations of this nature, which have got to the stage of charges from the police is incredibly rare, is incredibly unsettling for people who support that political party or even don't support the political party and so, whatever about the individual circumstances of this case, it will come to court, we can't get into

that now. but the mere fact of him being charged is beyond compare. i cannot think of an example of where this has happened to a political leader while they are leading the party, certainly not in this jurisdiction in northern ireland. and there is a sense of shock, certainly, within northern ireland as to what is happening here. and as to what is happening here. and sam, if you _ as to what is happening here. and sam. if you can — as to what is happening here. and sam, if you can bear with me, i'm just going to recapture our viewers this breaking story. we have learned this breaking story. we have learned this in the last short while that sirjeffrey donaldson, the former, the now former leader of the democratic unionist party in northern ireland, that is the largest unionist party in northern ireland, has been charged with historical sexual offences. he has stepped down as leader with immediate effect. a57—year—old woman, we are told, has also been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences. both were arrested on thursday morning by detectives from the police service of northern

ireland and were questioned before being charged on thursday night. both are due to appear in court next month. the dup said that the party chairman had received a letterfrom sirjeffrey donaldson confirming that he had been charged with allegations of a historical nature, indicating that he was stepping down as leader with immediate effect and the party officers of the dup have suspended him from membership of the party, pending the outcome of a judicial process. they have appointed gavin robinson mp as the interim party leader. and we know that from the police statement, they confirmed that a 61—year—old man had been charged with non—recent sexual offences, as well as a 57—year—old woman arrested at the same time and charged with aiding and abetting additional offences. the pair will appear before a magistrates' court in newry on the 24th of april. still

with me, sam mcbride, northern ireland editor at the belfast telegraph newspaper. tell us a bit more about the reaction you have been getting to this news in the last little while, sam. obviously there is not much we can say with regard to the charges, but in terms of the political implications? weill. of the political implications? well, reall , all of the political implications? well, really, all morning _ of the political implications? well, really, all morning there _ of the political implications? well, really, all morning there has i of the political implications? -ii really, all morning there has been fevered speculation about this, both inside the dup, outside the dup, most of the public, people who have no interest in politics. this has been spreading around social media. one of the first signs here was that jeffrey donaldson deleted all of his social media accounts late last night, around midnight last night they all vanished, twitter, facebook, linkedin, all those things suddenly went down. there was also a story that a man who matched his age had been charged in relation to past sexual offences and so, people started to put too and two together, but it was not at all clear exactly what's happening there. but as time has gone on here there has been a

dawning realisation within dup and outside that party that this is who is involved and there really is a sense of shock. there is a sense that this raises questions which people are not quite sure what the answers to those questions will be yet. this deal to get stormont back was very muchjeffrey donaldson's deal. he was the heart of it, he was the salesman for it, he negotiated it for. he really had done quite a successful job it for. he really had done quite a successfuljob of getting it to stick. we are weeks into it now and even though there is very significant internal opposition to that move within his party, he had managed to make it work and suddenly everything goes into a massive tailspin here because of something that nobody thought was coming, so there will be massive concern within there will be massive concern within the irish government, the british government, the european union in terms of what this means for the irish sea border, whether stormont will stay as it has been. i it will. i think it is pretty durable now because this party has made its bed, it will have to rely on it, there is no other place for it to go

politically. however, it is not the position they wanted to be in. yes. position they wanted to be in. yes, really interesting _ position they wanted to be in. yes, really interesting that _ position they wanted to be in. yes, really interesting that you described jeffrey donaldson as the salesman for this return to the power—sharing assembly in northern ireland. my previous guest, professorjon tonge, described it as a sales project that he had taken charge of, so it really does link into that return, even though, as you have mentioned, he is not a member of that assembly and really does tie him to that project, the drive to get that power—sharing government backed up and running again, so we can understand that, our viewers can understand why you are saying this will cause a lot of concern. it are saying this will cause a lot of concern. , ~' concern. it will, but i think the --eole concern. it will, but i think the people should _ concern. it will, but i think the people should understand i concern. it will, but i think the people should understand that concern. it will, but i think the i people should understand that gavin robinson was deputy leader. he was absolutely shackled to this deal every bit as much asjeffrey donaldson, albeit it was donaldson who was the front man. he was slightly further back, but he will be absolutely committed to this. he has got the same stance, essentially, on most of these major issues as jeffrey essentially, on most of these major issues asjeffrey donaldson, so this

issues asjeffrey donaldson, so this is not a radical shift of politics within the dup, it is not a case of them turning to somebody who might be an opponent of this deal. but it does change things in terms of the wider confidence injeffrey donaldson as a person. he was the person who was at the heart of this deal, he was the person in charge of striking it with the british government, as he has been in charge of multiple deals with the british government and so people who were already uncertain about it will be wondering if he did the right thing. this massive u—turn will give them extra cause for concern, if you like. ~ �* ., ., , like. do we think we're going to see gavin robinson _ like. do we think we're going to see gavin robinson or— like. do we think we're going to see gavin robinson or indeed _ like. do we think we're going to see gavin robinson or indeed emma i gavin robinson or indeed emma little—pengelly, deputy first minister at the northern ireland assembly, come out to try to make a statement today to try to reassure the people of northern ireland, to reassure those in political circles? i'm not sure. the dup is a party which tends to be very cautious and how it interacts with the media and actually one thing ijust picked up from looking again at the party

statement which came out a few minutes ago is it is quite careful in its language there aboutjeffrey donaldson. so, one of the things that i have over many years learned to pick up on dup statements is the precise wording of them. sometimes they give an impression of something which later on turns out to not quite be what they were driving at, so if you look at how they phrased that, they say that the party chairman has received a letter from jeffrey donaldson confirming he has been charged with allegations, etc, and indicating that he is stepping down as leader. now, it doesn't say that he is resigning as leader. that is obviously implied and that is what we are assuming this means, but is this a temporary stepping down? might he come back if he is cleared by a court? talks about gavin robinson been put there as an interim party leader. it is that because jeffrey interim party leader. it is that becausejeffrey donaldson might still return or is that because they need to a formal protest to ratify him as party leader because those are the questions that the party will face, but whether they will be able to answer them, not so sure.