The DUP’s approach to the downfall of its former leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, has been a textbook example of crisis management. The party suspended him the moment he was arrested, condemned him the moment he was convicted and gave unambiguous support to the legal process for the two years in between. Questions are naturally being asked about whether anyone inside the party had suspicions but there are no serious claims so far of prior knowledge.

Even if the public accepts this, Donaldson has left the DUP with two significant problems: a rushed replacement leadership and a conspiracy theory about Brexit.

When Donaldson was arrested in March 2024 he was in the midst of a protracted farce over relocating from Westminster.

The DUP believes its leader should be at Stormont. Donaldson was an MP when his chance for the top job arrived in June 2021, following the resignation of Arlene Foster and the hapless three-week tenure of Edwin Poots.

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Moving to Stormont would........

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