Donaldson sex abuse accusers 'not sufficiently reliable' for a guilty verdict, jury told

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLyndsey TelfordBBC News NI, at Newry Crown CourtPA MediaThe two women accusing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson of sexually abusing them as children have been described as "not sufficiently reliable" for the jury to reach a guilty verdict. The former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader's defence barrister Kieran Vaughan KC told the jury there were "significant and fundamental issues" with each of the complainants. Sir Jeffrey has pleaded not guilty to 18 sex abuse charges, including one count of rape, allegedly committed between 1985 and 2008. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, denies five related charges of aiding and abetting. She is facing a trial of the facts and is not participating in proceedings. In his closing speech, Vaughan urged the jury to "ignore the noise" and "focus on the evidence". He said: "We say you will see there are fundamental and significant issues with each of these complainants… they are not sufficiently reliable enough in order to drive you to a sure conclusion that he is guilty." Vaughan began his closing speech on Tuesday when he addressed the evidence of Complainant B, the older of the two alleged victims. On Wednesday, he stepped the jury through Complainant A's evidence, telling it she was a "very, very unreliable witness" and not one they could "safely rely upon". Vaughan said Complainant A was "somebody who's capable of leaving things out of her evidence if she thinks it suits her own ends". He added: "She's also capable of adding things in if it suits her own ends." He referred to a letter written by Sir Jeffrey to the complainant in 2020, which the trial previously heard she believed was an apology for the alleged abuse. Vaughan told the jury the complainant had not mentioned the context of the letter. The trial previously heard from Sir Jeffrey that the letter had nothing to do with the allegations. Vaughan also pointed out that the complainant failed in her police interview to mention alleged abuse she is said to have experienced at the hands of another man. He said that omission had "the hallmarks of a witness trying to portray a certain picture". He added "an honest witness would have nothing to hide" and would "paint a fuller picture". Vaughan said Complainant A's allegation of an encounter, in which the court was previously told Sir Jeffrey allegedly used a light to look at her private parts, had been a "misunderstanding". He said that despite what the complainant "suspects" happened, the evidence showed that "nothing happened". He said: "I invite you to consider her own words because you'll recall what she told police at interview was: 'I just was very confused, I wasn't quite sure what had just happened.'" He asked the jury: "If she can't be sure, if she's confused, how could you possibly be sure?" He said her other claims, which the trial previously heard included Sir Jeffrey allegedly kissing her with his tongue and his alleged rubbing of her breasts, "didn't happen". He said her account of an incident in which Sir Jeffrey allegedly rubbed her breasts lacked "any semblance of credibility". He said of Complainant A's account of the incident, and an initial claim that Lady Donaldson witnessed it, that she "stuck it in reverse" while under cross examination. He pointed out that the complainant had originally suggested that Lady Donaldson witnessed the alleged touching. But when questioned further, he said, the complainant claimed she "couldn't tell" what Lady Donaldson saw. "That exchange on that issue demonstrates that she's capable of saying a terrible untruth," Vaughan said. He added: "To the next day saying 'I wasn't saying that' – we say that isn't a witness you can safely reply upon." The court then heard from Lady Donaldson's barrister Ian Turkington KC. Lady Donaldson is facing a trial of the facts after she was previously deemed unfit to face a conventional trial on mental health grounds. In his closing speech, he reminded the jury that Lady Donaldson was too unwell to participate in the proceedings. "Eleanor Donaldson has not chosen not to be here," he said. "She hasn't chosen not to defend herself. And she hasn't chosen not to come here and clear her name." He told the members of the jury that they were the "gatekeepers" and "guards against any risk of a miscarriage of justice". He said they needed to be sure that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. "We say on the strength of the evidence, that's simply not possible," he said. Turkington said the "picture the prosecution" was asking the jury to see in its case against Lady Donaldson was not clear. He said all the jury had to go on was the accounts of the complainants. He also questioned the "delay" between when the alleged abuse was said to have occurred and when the complainants finally reported their allegations to the police. He questioned how reliable their memories could be over such a long period of time. Sir

Donaldson sex abuse accusers 'not sufficiently reliable' for a guilty verdict, jury told

Key takeaways

More in top