Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has firmly rejected a claim that she warned a young woman that former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was a danger to her.

The allegation surfaced in private online messages the woman sent to a friend in 2020. In them, she said Little-Pengelly had told her not to speak to Donaldson because he posed a danger. The woman, who was in her early twenties at the time, is not one of the two complainants in the historical child sex offences for which Donaldson was later convicted.

The messages reveal that after Little-Pengelly posted a birthday greeting to Donaldson on Facebook in December 2020, the woman told her friend she was furious. The post, which wished Sir Jeff a lovely birthday, featured a photograph of Little-Pengelly, Donaldson and then party leader Arlene Foster. The woman wrote that Little-Pengelly had been the one warning her about Donaldson, only to then publicly celebrate his birthday.

In the same exchange, the woman described Donaldson as a creep and a weirdo. She said he had sent her unwanted messages commenting on her attractiveness. She also said another senior DUP figure had advised her not to trust him.

During the DUP leadership contest in May 2021, former North Antrim MP Ian Paisley said the woman approached him to say she had been exploited by Donaldson and that he should not lead the party. Mr Paisley passed the information to rival candidate Edwin Poots. In a separate text, Mr Paisley referred to the woman as a victim.

Mr Poots confirmed he was told the woman had received unwanted texts from Donaldson. He said the term victim was never used and that the woman did not want to pursue the matter. Her father was involved in the conversation, and Mr Poots said nothing was raised that indicated a safeguarding or criminal concern.

In a statement, the DUP said it never received any complaints internally or externally about inappropriate or criminal behaviour by Jeffrey Donaldson.

Solicitors for Ms Little-Pengelly said their client categorically denies stating that Mr Donaldson was a danger to anyone. They said she appears to have been entirely misrepresented in correspondence to which she is a stranger.