People in the DUP feel “betrayed” that Jeffrey Donaldson tricked them into thinking he was a God fearing Christian - while the truth was he was a serial child abuser, one of Northern Ireland’s most senior political journalists has said. 

On Monday, the former Lagan Valley MP was convicted of 18 sexual offences, including child rape, which took place between 1985 and 2008.

He had strenuously denied all charges against him, but the jury concluded he was a liar and a paedophile. 

His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was also found guilty of aiding and abetting him in a trial of facts.

On Newstalk Daily, Belfast Telegraph Political Editor Suzanne Breen recalled how she had known the former DUP leader for decades and that his former colleagues are “stunned” by the verdict. 

“The running joke that Jeffrey Donaldson himself liked was that he was the DUP's Daniel O'Donnell,” she said. 

“He was a dead ringer for the Donegal singer and Jeffrey Donaldson would occasionally burst into one of the songs of what he called his cousin from Kincasslagh. 

“But Jeffrey Donaldson was absolutely nothing like Daniel O'Donnell - he was a complete and absolute fake.”

Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson arrives at Newry Magistrates' Court. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy.

During the trial, Donaldson turned up in court every day in a smart suit, with an Ichthys or ‘Jesus fish’ symbol pinned to his lapel. 

For decades, he had spoken of his belief in God and how his Christian faith has influenced his career. 

But once he was out of the public eye, his behaviour was far from Christian. 

“There was no sign over the years of any turmoil or torment in his life yet we now know from what came out in court that he was running around putting out fires,” Ms Breen added. 

“That he was having meetings, that he was writing letters of apology all the while continuing in the front line of Northern Ireland politics.” 

Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his re-election in 2017. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ms Breen continued that people in the DUP feel “very angry” and “betrayed” that Donaldson put himself forward to be leader of the party, given his dark secrets. 

“Most DUP members, representatives felt that they never knew the real Jeffrey, that he was okay if he was talking about work, if the conversation stuck to politics,” she said. 

“But once anyone tried to go beyond that they got very little from Jeffrey Donaldson. 

“If people were talking about how they spent their weekends, maybe they had a meal out with their wife, Jeffrey Donaldson just didn't go there. 

“He didn't want to talk about personal things like that; one person said to me he couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he never really knew what made Jeffrey Donaldson tick.”

Donaldson is due to be sentenced in September.

Main image: Jeffrey Donaldson with his wife Eleanor in 1998. Picture by: Alamy.com.