The jury in the trial of former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was sent home on Thursday afternoon without reaching a verdict. The seven men and five women will return to Newry Crown Court on Friday morning.

They spent roughly three hours deliberating after receiving legal directions from Judge Paul Ramsey, who had spent about two hours summing up the case earlier in the day.

The judge told jurors they must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Donaldson's guilt before they could convict. If they found the evidence of the two complainants reliable, he said, they could convict; if not, they should find him not guilty. The judge indicated he was seeking a unanimous verdict.

Donaldson, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 counts of indecent assault. The alleged offences date from 1985 to 2008 and involve two women who say they were abused as children.

His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, denies several charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending, as well as one count of cruelty to children. She was ruled medically unfit to stand trial and is undergoing a trial of the facts, meaning the jury will decide whether she committed the acts but she cannot be convicted.

During the four-week trial the two complainants, identified as A and B, gave evidence. Donaldson spent two days in the witness box.

The Donaldsons were arrested at their home in County Down and charged on 28 March 2024. The trial is being heard at Newry Crown Court.

Jeffrey Donaldson was one of Northern Ireland's most prominent politicians, leading the DUP's return to Stormont earlier that year after a two-year political impasse. He stood down as party leader following his arrest and did not contest the July general election, losing the Lagan Valley seat he had held since 1997.