O'Neill accuses DUP of 'turning blind eye' over Donaldson

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has accused the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of turning a "blind eye" to the behaviour of their former leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

The Sinn Féin vice-president also called on Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly to be "open and transparent about what she knew" about her former party colleague's conduct.

She was speaking as a series of misconduct allegations have emerged separate from Donaldson's conviction last month for child sex offences.

In a statement, the DUP accused Sinn Féin of "playing politics with selective outrage" and said O'Neill should await the outcome of an independent review "rather than prejudging that process".

In June, Donaldson was convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including one count of rape, committed against two women when they were children.

He is in custody waiting to be sentenced.

Since his conviction a number of separate allegations have emerged about Donaldson's past behaviour.

They include a BBC Spotlight programme revealing that two senior DUP figures were made aware in 2021 of claims from a woman who said she had been "exploited" by Donaldson.

On Tuesday, the Belfast Telegraph reported that a woman had alleged Donaldson had sexually assaulted her in 2016, and that she had made a senior member of the party aware of what happened.

The woman said the alleged assault happened in the DUP's Westminster offices after Donaldson had given her a tour of the building.

A DUP spokesperson said the party "never received any report or complaint regarding these allegations".

They added: "We encourage anyone with information or a complaint regarding Jeffrey Donaldson to report it to the police."

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it had received a report about an allegation of a non-recent offence and was "assessing the information".

Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Tuesday, O'Neill said that "increasingly we have lots of questions for the DUP to answer".

The first minister claimed "lots of" people in the DUP were aware of Donaldson's "antics and behaviour".

"It's very clear for us all to see that there was a culture in the DUP to turn a blind eye to actually what was happening," she added.

"That their leader was engaged in this type of behaviour and nobody knew about it? I don't think anybody believes that."

O'Neill said she has spoken to her Stormont executive counterpart Little-Pengelly but added it was "for her to answer for what she knew". The BBC has contacted Little-Pengelly for response.

"I find it astonishing her silence. I find it astonishing that the media aren't asking her these questions," she added.

The first minister also rejected suggestions of hypocrisy, as questions were posed over Sinn Féin's handling of past controversies involving its own party.

"This isn't about Sinn Féin," O'Neill responded before adding: "No, Sinn Féin are not hypocrites."

Earlier on Tuesday, Alliance Party deputy leader Eóin Tennyson said the Belfast Telegraph's report was "deeply concerning".

"Taken alongside other recent reports, including separate claims about a 'warning' allegedly given to another young woman about Donaldson's behaviour, each new revelation raises further questions about whether opportunities were missed to protect people and what action was taken," the Upper Bann MLA said.

"The public is entitled to expect openness and transparency about who knew what and when.

"These serious questions cannot simply be brushed aside."

In a statement a DUP spokesperson said: "Sinn Féin is now playing politics with selective outrage.

"Before casting stones at others, Sinn Féin should reflect on its own handling of cases involving Máiría Cahill, Michael McMonagle, Sandy Lynch and Jonathan Dowdall.

"The DUP never received any complaint regarding Jeffrey Donaldson's behaviour.

"We are commissioning an independent review into safeguarding arrangements."