Democratic Unionist Party

Independent Focused Safeguarding Review for the Democratic Unionist Party into Jeffrey Donaldson.

INEQE Safeguarding Group has been commissioned by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to conduct an Independent Focused Safeguarding Review for the Democratic Unionist Party into Jeffrey Donaldson.

Terms of Reference

It is not the role of the review to investigate allegations of criminal conduct as this is the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) or, any other police service in a relevant jurisdiction and where appropriate, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland or any other relevant conduct body.

Where issues relevant to statutory services are disclosed, and the review is able to do so, these will be referred to the appropriate body.

INEQE will:

1. Conduct an independent review to establish what (if any) information was known within the DUP concerning allegations of inappropriate conduct relating to safeguarding by Jeffrey Donaldson. This will include who knew, when and from whom they learned it, the form in which it arose (eyewitness, formal complaint, disclosure, concern, rumour or warning), and what action was or was not taken. The focus will be on the DUP’s knowledge and handling of such matters.

2. Provide an independent and confidential facility for members to come forward with related information, concerns or experiences relating to Jeffrey Donaldson during his time in the DUP.

3. Examine and review the DUP’s safeguarding processes (including reporting mechanisms) and make recommendations to ensure good practice is followed by all members and staff.

The review is independent of the DUP and of any individual whose conduct may fall within its scope. INEQE will have full control of methodology, evidence-gathering, interviews, document requests, analysis, findings, report drafting and recommendations. The DUP will not restrict, amend, or delay findings, save where necessary to comply with the law or to protect victim anonymity, live proceedings, data protection or legal privilege but as the commissioning body reserves the right to publish any or all of the independent findings as they see fit. Any conduct that comes to light that indicates a potential criminal offence or a matter that is rightly the preserve of a statutory agency will be reported to the appropriate agency without recourse to the Commissioning body.

The review will focus on:

1. Jeffrey Donaldson’s connection with and roles within the DUP;

2. any complaints, disclosures, concerns, rumours or warnings relating to Jeffrey Donaldson that arose within his time in the DUP;

3. relevant actions or omissions by officers, elected representatives, staff and others in the DUP relating to Jeffrey Donaldson;

4. the DUP’s safeguarding, complaints and reporting arrangements over the relevant period; and

5. the DUP’s response following Jeffrey Donaldson’s arrest.

The review will seek to establish the veracity of allegations raised in the public domain since the conviction, the extent (if any) to which they were known within the DUP, and their relevance to the review’s objectives.

The facility will be provided for DUP members, and staff and other relevant parties to come forward, and all engagement with the review, will be victim-centred, trauma-informed and safeguarding-led. The review will:

1. provide safe, confidential routes for members to share information;

2. protect anonymity and guard against jigsaw identification;

3. avoid unnecessary repetition of distressing material and language that shifts responsibility onto those reporting;

4. signpost independent support; and

5. refer any safeguarding or potential criminal concerns identified during the review to the appropriate authorities, maintaining a clear boundary between review engagement and any criminal investigation.

Share Your Views

Your input will help us focus the review and improve our final recommendations. There will be a range of opportunities throughout the review to engage with the team. In the first instance, we will be releasing a range of online surveys within the coming weeks.

To get in touch and share information with us, or to register your interest in participating in the surveys, please complete the contact form below.

All contacts will be treated as confidential. We will only share information if what you tell us indicates a serious risk of harm.

Contact the Safeguarding Review Team

Thank you for considering contacting the Independent Safeguarding Review Team. Please complete the form below where your submission will be shared directly with the Safeguarding Review Team at  Ineqe Safeguarding Group.

All submissions are handled with strict confidentiality. We will only disclose information if your message indicates an alleged criminal offence or a serious risk of harm to yourself or others.

Please note: This inbox is not monitored 24/7

Any allegations of crime should be made to the PSNI.

How to Contact PSNI 

If you wish to provide information, speak to an officer, or raise concerns, you can contact us directly:
Telephone: 101
If you are in immediate danger, always call 999.

The safety of everyone is important

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger. Call the police immediately on 999. Please do not wait or complete this form.

Democratic Unionist Party Contact Details

General Enquires DUP, Press Office DUP and DUP Headquarters:

Phone: 028 9047 1155

Email: [email protected]

If you require social services advice and support out of hours in regards to a potential safeguarding concern for any child or adult contact: 

Want to talk?
Further Support

Mental Health

Lifeline

A free 24 hour Northern Ireland based telephone service (0808 808 8000) for people experiencing distress or despair (also available to people concerned about someone else) using trained counsellors.

The Samaritans

A free helpline (116 123 from any phone) is available in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Childline

Telephone and online help available to anyone aged up to nineteen.

Action Mental Health

A Northern Ireland based charity with a focus on helping people with mental health problems get back into employment but also with a number of other support services such as supporting people with eating disorders, alcohol relate problems, etc.

Aware NI

A Northern Ireland based charity providing support groups for people with depression.

Mindwise

A Northern Ireland based charity providing support to people with mental health problems including support in housing and back into employment as well as integration into society and support for those detained by the police.

Beacon

A Northern Ireland based charity under the umbrella of NIAMH (Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health) providing support services for people with mental health problems including housing support

Praxis

A Northern Ireland based charity providing support to people with mental health problems including support in housing, a befriending scheme and counselling services.

Nexus

A Northern Ireland based counselling service for survivors of sexual abuse, victims of sexual violence including those who have experienced rape and sexual assault.

Public Health Agency (NI)

Directory of services to help improve mental health and emotional wellbeing

Mental Health First Aid

Aware NI

A depression charity with online and in person support groups and offers training for mental health

Victim Support

Victim Support NI

You can contact them from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday on the phone number below.
Alternatively, you can email either their Belfast or Foyle offices.

Domestic Abuse

The Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline (NI)

You can avail of further support from the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline in Northern Ireland.

The Independent Review Team

Click their names for more information

Jim is a former Chief Police Officer and was the founding Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. He is currently the CEO of the INEQE Safeguarding Group and the Independent Children and Young Persons Safeguarding Commissioner of the City and Hackney, Bromley and Lambeth LSCPs.

Having graduated from the UK College of Policing Senior Command Course, he completed a Post- Graduate Diploma in Criminology and Criminal Justice Management at Cambridge University.

A former UK Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead for domestic violence and child abuse investigations, internet safety and countering human trafficking. He was a co-author on the UK’s first Domestic Homicide Review and was appointed by the then Home Secretary to lead the initial scoping review of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

More recently, he led wide-ranging safeguarding reviews of NHS Trusts, Oxfam GB and an international faith-based organisation at the request of the Charity Commission (England and Wales). He has also commissioned and overseen a number of contemporary Serious Case and Practice Learning Reviews, including the recent Child Q SCPR. Jim has been called to give evidence to the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and has appeared before numerous Parliamentary Committees.

Director of Operations and Project Lead: Hannah is a Lead Auditor for all review and audit activity undertaken by INEQE. She will act as the Project Manager. Her experience in Project Manager extends to all major reviews ranging from The King’s Trust (formerly the Prince’s Trust) to Church of England Safeguarding Audits of which 23 have been completed.

Hannah brings significant practical experience from the third sector across the UK and internationally. She has worked overseas in a faith-based setting and was a member of a team that travelled to Kosovo with ‘European Christian Mission’ to engage with programmes for children in refugee camps. She also led site visits in Tanzania and Rwanda as part of INEQE’s review of Oxfam GB.

She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and Theology and an LLM in Human Rights from Queen’s University Belfast and an M.Phil from Trinity College Dublin. Hannah also has experience as a counsellor with Childline.

Strategic Advisor, Harvey is a former Assistant Director at the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW), with over 20 years of practical experience in the charity sector. He was Head of CCEW’s Investigations and Enforcement Division, responsible for the conduct and delivery of the commission’s largest and most complex statutory inquiries. Many of these were significant, high-profile inquiries, which garnered media and public interest. His work included oversight and supervision of improvements to governance and safeguarding arrangements across a diverse range of faith-based and non-faith-based charities.

Harvey was the senior business lead for the commission’s extensive work with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. He also served as senior technical adviser, providing internal and external advice on governance and charity-related safeguarding matters; as well as liaison with partner agencies, UK Parliament constituency MPs and select committees.

In addition to performing several volunteer roles in the sector, he has served as a trustee for two UK charities with national profiles.

Maurine is the Head of Legal. She is a Barrister at Law and the former Head of Legal at CEOP, SOCA and legal advisor to the NCA. She has experience across the criminal justice sector, Magistrates court, Family Law, policing procedure, senior management and governance. Maurine is a key advisor on the Quality Assurance and Ethics Panel. Furthermore, she is a Trustee of a number of charities to whom she provides legal advice.

Bill is the Chief Operating Officer at INEQE Safeguarding Group. He is a former Senior Police Officer with extensive global experience conducting strategic and thematic inspections. He has been involved in the recent large-scale safeguarding governance audits undertaken by INEQE. He sits on the Church of England Monitoring body which oversees their audit programme.

Bill holds an Honours Degree in Law and a Masters in Criminal Justice Management. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Prince2 project manager.

Head of Education and Learning, graduating from the University of Greenwich with a degree in Primary Education. She is a highly experienced teacher and has taught in primary and secondary schools across Northern Ireland and England. She has developed a deep expertise in family-based safeguarding and leads INEQE’s work on youth engagement across faith-based environments.

Rory is a senior professional adviser. He is a qualified social worker with over 30 years’ experience working with children and vulnerable adults. He co-designed the first Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). He also participates in all major reviews undertaken by INEQE specialising in thresholds, case management and escalation.

Laura is a Senior Research Analyst. She holds a PhD in Sociology. Her research areas centre on the construction of childhood, the construction of gender and sexuality and how this impacts girls and young women as well as the impact of the digital age on the expression of gender and sexuality.

Lauren is a Senior Research Officer. She holds an MSc in Psychological Research Methods in Child Development and a BSc with Honours in Psychology. In her undergraduate degree her final year thesis explored how the environmental shift to formal schooling affected the development of false belief understanding in children. Subsequently, her Masters thesis focused on differences in neurocognitive development depending on age.

Research and Data Analyst: Specialising in quantitative and qualitative methodologies, Rhianna has a robust background in data interpretation within the healthcare and charitable sectors. She holds an MSc in Clinical Health Psychology and previously worked for a suicide-prevention charity.

Neil is a former Detective Sergeant with 31 years experience across England and Northern Ireland. He served in supervisory roles within major crime investigations, Public Protection Branch and child abuse enquiries. He has led complex high-risk investigations throughout his career, successfully investigating and convicting an individual found to be responsible for the largest ‘catfishing’ exploitation case involving over 3,500 victims.

Business and Training Manager. Jemma has extensive experience in social care including specialising in trauma-informed support with a specific emphasis on residential care. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in therapeutic practices and effective management of complex and challenging situations. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Biology.

Trauma Informed Practice

INEQE takes a trauma-informed approach to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors are heard at all levels. Measures are adopted to support them before, during, and after their engagement with the review team.

To achieve a positive outcome for victims and survivors, participants can choose how they wish to engage with the review team, whether through face-to-face discussions, confidential surveys or contact forms, or online video calls. INEQE gathers their accounts using the method that best provides participants with choice and empowerment.