• Published

Former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been stripped of his knighthood by the King.

Donaldson, who was an MP from 1997 until 2024, was convicted in June of 18 counts of sex abuse including one count of rape, which he committed against two women when they were children.

In the aftermath of his conviction he asked to be removed from the Privy Council and for his knighthood to be forfeited.

On Thursday a notice was published in The Gazette, external - one of the UK's official journals of record - stating that Charles III had directed the cancellation of Donaldson's knighthood.

The notice, published by the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood stated: "THE KING has directed the cancellation and annulment of the knighthood conferred upon Jeffrey Mark Donaldson on the 11 June 2016 as a Knight Bachelor."

Donaldson was awarded the honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2016.

He was removed from the Privy Council, which advises the monarch, earlier in July.

The DUP has commissioned an independent review into Donaldson's time in the party.

He was previously a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, which has said it will appoint an independent, external organisation to establish a process for people to confidentially share information about Jeffrey Donaldson during his time in the party.

Donaldson was convicted unanimously on all counts by a jury of seven men and five women at Newry Crown Court.

He was told by the judge that the sentence would be a lengthy one.

It has since been confirmed he is to appeal his convictions.

His legal team lodged the paperwork with the Court of Appeal in Belfast on 17 July.

His attempt to have his convictions overturned is unlikely to play out before he is sentenced.

The process will involve a hearing at which leave to appeal would either be granted or denied - it is speculated this could happen sometime in September.

Should leave be granted, a full hearing would then follow at a later stage.

How is a knighthood taken away?

An honour such as a knighthood can be removed on the advice of a body known as the Forfeiture Committee if the holder is deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute.

Recommendations to remove an honour are considered byt the committee and if it agrees to remove an honour, that advice is passed onto the King via the prime minister.

If the King gives his approval a notice is then normally placed in the Gazette.

The holder of the honour is then asked to return their insignia to Buckingham Palace and cannot use the title or post-nominal letters any more.