Jailed former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson being investigated over alleged rape inside Parliament
The Met's careful wording does a lot of work here. Confirming an investigation into a 63-year-old man without naming him, while everyone watching already knows the name in question. That is the awkward gap between legal caution and public knowledge, and it matters because the allegation concerns an act inside Parliament itself, a place that has spent years trying to confront its own record on abuse of power.
Donaldson is already in jail, so this investigation carries a different weight. It is about accountability for something alleged to have happened in the corridors of power, and it forces a question about whether institutions truly changed or simply got better at managing optics. I would want to know the timeline and why this has surfaced now, given the earlier cases against him.
I think the key is to let the process run. Rape allegations are devastating either way, and a fair investigation protects both the complainant and the accused. But Westminster has a long way to go before it can claim it takes these matters seriously, and this case will test whether that claim holds up.