Jeffrey Donaldson investigated over alleged rape inside Houses of Parliament

The allegation concerns an incident said to have taken place inside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster in 2016. Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, is accused of raping a woman there, according to Express & Star.

The public reports do not establish when the woman first reported the allegation. They do describe how it reached the force now investigating: officers in Northern Ireland passed a report to the Metropolitan Police.

The alleged Westminster incident dates to 2016. The supplied coverage gives no more precise date or account of the circumstances surrounding it.

In a separate case, Donaldson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual offences against two women when they were children, the Irish Times reported on October 21. Telegraaf, also reporting on October 21, said the sentence had been imposed the previous week.

On October 21, Guardian Politics reported that the Metropolitan Police were investigating the Westminster rape allegation following a referral from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Sky News also reported the investigation that day, citing the PA news agency. The new allegation concerns a different incident from the offences underlying Donaldson's prison sentence.

The Westminster allegation is a police investigation, not an established finding against Donaldson. The supplied coverage reports no charge or court decision concerning this allegation.

The Metropolitan Police are the investigating force, following the referral from Northern Ireland, according to Guardian Politics. The reports provide no detailed account of the evidence being examined or a timetable for completing the inquiry.

Donaldson is expected to be interviewed as part of the investigation. No interview date is given in the supplied reporting.

The next substantive developments would be confirmation of that interview and any police decision on further action. The coverage does not establish when either might happen.