DUP seeks to distance party from ‘wicked deceiver’ Jeffrey Donaldson

Denunciation comes after former Democratic Unionist leader convicted of child sexual offences

The Democratic Unionist party has denounced Jeffrey Donaldson as a “wicked deceiver” who led a “double and duplicitous life” a day after its former leader was convicted of child sexual offences.

Leaders at the Stormont assembly on Tuesday sought to distance the DUP from Donaldson and described him as a manipulator who had hoodwinked Northern Ireland and hid his crimes behind a facade of respectability and Christian faith.