Michelle O’Neill says there is no threat to Northern Ireland power sharing after Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation
There is no threat to Northern Ireland’s power-sharing agreement after the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) resigned over allegations of historical sexual offences, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stepped down on Friday. It is understood he will be “strenuously contesting” all charges against him.
Sinn Fein vice president Ms O’Neill told Sky News she has approached the leaders of the three other parties in the ministerial executive in Belfast to ensure “cohesion” amid the political fallout.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Pic: PA
The deal that restored power sharing earlier this year hinged on the backing of Donaldson.
“I think everybody was shocked,” Ms O’Neill said of Friday’s developments.
“[It’s] a very challenging time, not least for those people that have come forward to the police.”
She added: “I’ve spoken to the new interim leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson. I’ve also spoken to my executive colleagues, the political leaders around the executive table, just in terms of the work that we have to do, that we need to prioritise cohesion and leadership through these times.”
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‘It’s been a devastating revelation,’ Gavin Robinson says
No threat to power sharing
Ms O’Neill said all the party leaders shared the view there is no threat to the power-sharing institutions.
“The public here rightly deserve our newly formed executive to continue to deliver for them for now and into the future,” she said.
“My priority is to make that power sharing work, my priority is to work with the other political leaders around the executive table.
“That was why I thought it was important yesterday to reach out to each of the political leaders to talk about the need for cohesion, to talk about the need for leadership and to talk about the delivery that we now need to get on with in terms of the executive itself.”
A political earthquake without warning presents a threat to power sharing
“Cohesion and leadership” – the priorities outlined by Northern Ireland’s first minister in her bid to avert a full-blown political crisis.
Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill told Sky News she was “shocked” by the circumstances of Unionist leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation. Shocked is an understatement. Northern Ireland is reeling from a political earthquake without warning and struggling to assess the damage. There is a criminal investigation under way – politicians are choosing their words carefully to ensure they do not compromise it.
But they must, at the same time, attempt to deal with the political fall-out, to steady the ship in unchartered waters. The Democratic Unionist Party has not only lost its leader in inauspicious circumstances but erased him from its online presence. At least three of the Party’s eight Westminster seats were already deemed marginal, and at risk in the upcoming general election. If Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as an MP, it could find itself fighting a by-election in Lagan Valley very quickly.
And those landmines pose a very real threat to the power-sharing government, just eight weeks after it came into existence. Senior DUP figures, who opposed Donaldson’s decision to compromise and restore devolution, could seek to take control of the party. Hardline Unionists outside the party have urged them to do so and terminate power sharing again over controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements.
But does the DUP want to risk a Stormont election and face a general election with the party in chaos? I don’t think so, but one party’s dysfunction can quickly become every party’s problem, if it is not managed carefully.
There wasn’t a whiff of political point-scoring when Michelle O’Neill urged other party leaders to protect power sharing – to be cohesive. But she and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will need every ounce of their leadership to avoid a political shipwreck.
The first minister added she intended to “provide leadership” and to make sure the power-sharing government got results on the “day-to-day matters that people want us to be prioritising”.
“The public rightly expect their political leaders to deliver for them. That’s where I’m going to be focused,” she said.
‘Victims must have opportunity for justice’
It came after Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she was “shocked and devastated” by the news of the charges against Donaldson.
Emma Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister. Pic: PA
She added: “Victims must always have the best opportunity for justice. This must be fully respected and supported.
“My thoughts are with those suffering who have put their faith in the criminal justice system.
“Protecting the integrity of that process necessitates significant restrictions on what can be said. I have faith in our justice system.”
Ms Little-Pengelly went on to say that she was “determined” to work with the interim party leader Mr Robinson to “provide stability” and continue “tackling the big issues faced by Northern Ireland”.
Donaldson due in court in April
Donaldson has led the DUP since 2021 and has been the MP for Lagan Valley since 1997.
The 61-year-old will appear in court in Newry, Co Down, on 24 April.
A 57-year-old woman has been charged with aiding and abetting offences in relation to the same police investigation.
He has been suspended by the party but it is understood he remains an MP.
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Politics
Children with special needs will ‘always’ have ‘legal right’ to support, education secretary says
The education secretary has said children with special needs will “always” have a legal right to additional support as she sought to quell a looming row over potential cuts.
The government is facing a potential repeat of the debacle over welfare reform due to suggestions it could scrap tailored plans for children and young people with special needs in the classroom.
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Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Bridget Phillipson failed to rule out abolishing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legally-binding plans to ensure children and young people receive bespoke support in either mainstream or specialist schools.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said parents’ anxiety was “through the roof” following reports over the weekend that EHCPs could be scrapped.
She said parents “need and deserve answers” and asked: “Can she confirm that no parent or child will have their right to support reduced, replaced or removed as a result of her planned changes?”
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Sophy’s thought on whether to scrap EHCPs
Ms Phillipson said SEND provision was a “serious and complex area” and that the government’s plans would be set out in a white paper that would be published later in the year.
“I would say to all parents of children with SEND, there is no responsibility I take more seriously than our responsibility to some of the most vulnerable children in our country,” she said.
“We will ensure, as a government, that children get better access to more support, strengthened support, with a much sharper focus on early intervention.”
ECHPs are drawn up by local councils and are available to children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is provided by the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) budget.
They identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.
In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025 – up 10.8% on the same point last year.
‘Rebel ready’
One Labour MP said they were concerned the government risked making the “same mistakes” over ECHPs as it did with the row over welfare, when it was eventually forced into a humiliating climbdown in the face of opposition by Labour MPs.
“The political risk is much higher even than with welfare, and I’m worried it’s being driven by a need to save money which it shouldn’t be,” they told Sky News.
“Some colleagues are rebel ready.”
The MP said the government should be “charting a transition from where we are now to where we need to be”, adding: “That may well be a future without ECHPs, because there is mainstream capacity – but that cannot be a removal of current provision.”
Later in the debate, Ms Phillipson said children with special educational needs and disabilities would “always” have a “legal right” to additional support as she accused a Conservative MP of attempting to “scare” parents.
“The guiding principle of any reform to the SEND system that we will set out will be about better support for children, strengthened support for children and improved support for children, both inside and outside of special schools,” she said.
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“Improved inclusivity in mainstream schools, more specialist provision in mainstream schools, and absolutely drawing on the expertise of the specialist sector in creating the places where we need them, there will always be a legal right … to the additional support… that children with SEND need.”
Her words were echoed by schools minister Catherine McKinnell, who also did not rule out changing ECHPs.
She told the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that the government was “focused on reforming the whole system”.
“Children and families have been left in a system where they’ve had to fight for their child’s education, and that has to change,” she said.
She added that EHCPs have not necessarily “fixed the situation” for some children – but for others it’s “really important”.
Politics
Government to ban ‘appalling’ non-disclosure agreements that silence victims of abuse at work
Victims will no longer have to “suffer in silence”, the government has said, as it pledges to ban non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) designed to silence staff who’ve suffered harassment or discrimination.
Accusers of Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer and convicted sex offender, are among many in recent years who had to breach such agreements in order to speak out.
Labour has suggested an extra section in the Employment Rights Bill that would void NDAs that are intended to stop employees going public about harassment or discrimination.
The government said this would allow victims to come forward about their situation rather than remain “stuck in unwanted situations, through fear or desperation”.
Zelda Perkins, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, led the calls for wrongful NDAs to be banned. Pic: Reuters
Zelda Perkins, Weinstein’s former assistant and founder of Can’t Buy My Silence UK, said the changes would mark a “huge milestone” in combatting the “abuse of power”.
She added: “This victory belongs to the people who broke their NDAs, who risked everything to speak the truth when they were told they couldn’t. Without their courage, none of this would be happening.”
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the government had “heard the calls from victims of harassment and discrimination” and was taking action to prevent people from having to “suffer in silence”.
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Weinstein found guilty of sex crime in retrial
An NDA is a broad term that describes any agreement that restricts what a signatory can say about something and was originally intended to protect commercially sensitive information.
Currently, a business can take an employee to court and seek compensation if they think a NDA has been broken – even if that person is a victim or witness of harassment or discrimination.
“Many high profile cases” have revealed NDAs are being manipulated to prevent people “speaking out about horrific experiences in the workplace”, the government said.
Announcing the amendments, employment minister Justin Madders said: “The misuse of NDAs to silence victims of harassment or discrimination is an appalling practice that this government has been determined to end.”
The bill is currently in the House of Lords, where it will be debated on 14 July, before going on to be discussed by MPs as well.
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