A fresh date for the trial of the former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor on sex offence charges has been set for November.
Newry Crown Court heard on Friday that Ms Donaldson remains unwell, and it is not clear whether she will be fit to stand trial.
Judge Paul Ramsey set the trial for November 3rd to give all parties a date to work towards, he said.
Mr Donaldson (62) and with an address in Dromore, Co Down, has previously pleaded not guilty to 18 offences – one count of rape, four of gross indecency with or towards a child, and 13 of indecent assault on a female, on dates between 1987 and 2008.
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Mrs Donaldson (58) of the same address, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of aiding and abetting in connection with the charges faced by her husband.
Their trial had been scheduled for March but was postponed days before it was due to begin because of Ms Donaldson’s ill-health.
Mr and Ms Donaldson were not in court on Friday, as neither defendant was required to attend the brief hearing.
Defence barrister Ian Turkington KC said he was “not in a position” to put medical evidence before the court on whether or not Ms Donaldson would be fit to stand trial in November.
He told the court Ms Donaldson “remains unwell” and he had hoped to provide documentary evidence of this at Friday’s hearing.
She is under the care and treatment of a consultant psychiatrist, the court heard.
He said the office of Ms Donaldson’s consultant was contacted on Friday morning and it seemed something had been “committed something to paper” but “a letter was dictated but not signed off.”
The barrister said he expected to receive this “within days” and would provide it to the court as soon as it arrived.
Mr Turkington also said a consultant psychiatrist had been engaged who could give an expert opinion on Ms Donaldson’s fitness to stand trial, and an appointment was scheduled for July, though there was the possibility of an earlier cancellation.
A request from prosecution barrister Fiona O’Kane for a review date to monitor progress was granted by Judge Ramsey and set for June 5th.
Mr Donaldson, who was MP for Lagan Valley, resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after he was arrested and charged in March 2024.
Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into Stormont after a two-year boycott of the Northern powersharing institutions.
The then deputy leader, Gavin Robinson, was appointed his successor as DUP leader.
