The Donaldson trial
5/22/202612 min
A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson have pleaded not guilty to a combined 23 sex abuse charges. Lady Donaldson has been declared unfit to stand criminal trial on mental health grounds. Instead she will face a trial of facts, in which a jury cannot find the person guilty but can decide if they committed the alleged offences. Solicitor Sarah McKeown talks us through how the court came to that decision and how the process will work. For more on the upcoming trial: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8p274vmp4o
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First 90 secondsDeclan Harvey· Host0:00
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Speaker 10:03
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Speaker 20:30
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Speaker 10:34
Today on the pod, we're talking to Joan, a method actor and scratchers enthusiast. So Joan, what do you like about playing scratchers?
Speaker 30:43
Well, as a method actor, it's about becoming the ticket. Scratching up, down, stage left, stage right.
Speaker 10:50
So, so what's your motivation? Because your performance feels so real.
Speaker 30:53
[laughs] Oh, I was just tapping into my inner scratchers.
Speaker 10:56
Incredible.
Speaker 30:57
Yes. Bravo me.
Speaker 11:00
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Tara Mills· Host1:06
When Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife were suddenly arrested on Good Friday in 2024, jaws dropped. It was shocking, but also politically dramatic.
Declan Harvey· Host1:17
Only three years earlier, he had finally achieved his goal of becoming the leader of Northern Ireland's biggest Unionist party, the DUP. It's a party steeped in conservative values, and Sir Jeffrey had been its leading voice