Assembly launches review into Donaldson's behaviour while MLA

The Northern Ireland Assembly has launched a review into disgraced former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson's behaviour while a member of the assembly (MLA), following his conviction for child sex offences last month.

The Speaker Edwin Poots had made the request to the assembly's clerk/chief executive.

Donaldson was an MLA from 2003 until 2010 and at one point a junior minister in the executive.

In the years after that he was often a visitor at Stormont while an MP and DUP leader.

On Friday, the assembly confirmed that the review has begun and is being conducted by the director of parliamentary services, who is the assembly's senior safeguarding officer.

It will take place until 21 August, with a report to be provided to the clerk/chief executive by 28 August.

A statement added that the review's purpose was to enable any MLA or former MLA, current or former assembly or party staff, or other user of Parliament Buildings to bring forward, in a "safe and supported manner", any incidents of abuse or inappropriate behaviour they directly experienced while Donaldson was an MLA or visitor to Parliament Buildings.

On Thursday, the DUP announced that child safety expert and former senior police officer Jim Gamble would lead an independent review for the party into Donaldson's behaviour while he was in the DUP.

Donaldson has been officially removed from the Privy Council.

The convicted child sex abuser had asked for his membership to be revoked in June after his conviction on 18 counts of sex abuse.

The council met at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday and agreed to remove Donaldson's membership.

He has also asked for his knighthood to be forfeited but this has not yet been made official.

An order published by the Privy Council stated that a letter sent to it by Donaldson, asking for his name to be removed from the list of members, was read out at the meeting.

The Privy Council then ordered that this should be carried out.

Donaldson's offences, which included one count of rape, were committed by him against two women when they were children.

The Privy Council is one of the oldest parts of the government, dating back to Norman times.

It exists to advise the monarch and has more than 600 members, but most meetings are only attended by a handful of members.

These meetings take place regularly and deal with issues that, for historical reasons, fall to government ministers in their roles as privy counsellors rather than departmental ministers.

These include things such as setting bank holidays, the design of coins and amendments to university charters.

Its membership is mostly made up of senior politicians including cabinet ministers.

Full meetings are only held when the reigning monarch announces their engagement or when a monarch dies.

Jeffrey Donaldson attended the most recent of these meetings in September 2022.