The Democratic Unionist Party has initiated an independent review into how it managed issues relating to its former leader Jeffrey Donaldson, amid a cascade of fresh claims about his private conduct and what senior party figures may have known.

Donaldson is currently held at Maghaberry Prison and will be sentenced in September after admitting sexual offences against two children. While the party has insisted it never received complaints of illegal behaviour, recent disclosures by current and former representatives have exposed a pattern of concerning incidents.

Ian Paisley Jr, DUP MP for North Antrim, told BBC Spotlight that on overseas trips he witnessed Donaldson becoming extremely drunk, at one point vomiting over the mayor of Beijing during a trade mission to China. On another occasion in New York, he claimed Donaldson tried to kiss a female MLA.

Former DUP MLA Jim Wells and ex-special adviser Timothy Cairns both described a heavy drinking habit. Wells said alcohol "flowed like water" at embassy receptions on international deputations. Cairns asserted that rumours of such behaviour blocked Donaldson from assuming the party leadership earlier, a point Paisley disputed, noting Arlene Foster had long been the expected successor.

Court documents revealed Donaldson had an affair with a divorcee in 2008, and that his wife Eleanor placed a tracking device on his car in 2020 out of suspicion of further infidelity. Separately, the BBC’s Spotlight programme reported that two PSNI officers saw Donaldson enter a London sauna marketed to gay men. The Belfast Telegraph subsequently reported the officers were on an anti-terrorism operation and the sighting was incidental.

In the most politically charged allegation, Paisley disclosed that five years ago a young woman told him she had been exploited by Donaldson and urged him to stop Donaldson from becoming leader. Paisley said he informed Edwin Poots, now the Assembly Speaker. Poots maintains the woman did not raise criminal or safeguarding issues and declined to file a formal complaint.

Sinn Féin’s Sinéad Ennis this week called for Poots to stand aside as Speaker until full details are known. Poots resisted, noting his own brief leadership was later ousted by Donaldson and stating he would never have protected him.

Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister claimed it was “inconceivable” the British government was unaware of Donaldson’s behaviour and suggested it may have been used as leverage during Brexit negotiations that led to the restoration of Stormont. The government dismissed the allegation as “absolute nonsense”.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson acknowledged that some current and former colleagues held back information. “It is clear some had knowledge they did not share,” he said. The party says the independent review will examine these matters, though it offers no immediate relief as Assembly elections loom in May 2026.