Cross-examination of one of the complainants continued on Friday at Newry Crown Court in the trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

Donaldson, 63, faces 18 charges of historical sexual offences alleged to have occurred between 1985 and 2008. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency with or towards a child, and 13 counts of indecent assault.

His wife Eleanor Donaldson, of Dublinhill Road, Dromore, faces five charges of aiding and abetting. She has been found medically unfit to stand trial and is instead subject to a trial of the facts.

The complainant, referred to as Complainant A, told the court that a letter written to her by Donaldson in June 2020 was an apology for the alleged abuse. Defence counsel Kieran Vaughan KC stated that the letter had nothing to do with the allegations and instead related to other behaviour.

The complainant said she reported the allegations to police in March 2024 after earlier contact with a safeguarding official and a police officer in 2023. She stated she had been anxious about making a formal complaint and had nearly changed her mind.

She alleged that Donaldson touched her breasts on multiple occasions when she was a child, describing the contact as mostly skin on skin. She also alleged an incident in which a light was directed at her genital area.

The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday.