If you want the measure of our society, imagine if the jury in Jeffrey Donaldson’s trial had reached a not guilty verdict.

In the wake of his conviction, many have been asking what the DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party knew about his behaviour.

I have a different question: was anybody waiting quietly in the wings to support him if he walked free from Newry courthouse?

To be clear, I don’t know if anybody in the DUP or elsewhere was planning to support Donaldson post-acquittal, but I think it’s fair to ask.

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It’s been reported that the former DUP leader planned an acquittal speech while sitting in the dock. He intended to say: “I’m going home to Eleanor”.

If Donaldson had been acquitted, he would have been an innocent man in the eyes of the law.

A not guilty verdict doesn’t necessarily mean a jury doesn’t believe a victim – the prosecution just hasn’t proved its case to the high criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

If Donaldson had made that speech, would people have welcomed........

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