A Sinn Féin MP has written to the Speaker of the House of Commons calling for a full investigation into Jeffrey Donaldson’s time as an MP.
It comes after the Sunday Times revealed that Donaldson, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison earlier this month for child sex offences, twice represented the UK on international bodies dedicated to children’s rights.
Separate from the European Union, the Council of Europe is made up of 46 countries and has a parliamentary assembly of MPs sent by national parliaments.
Each national delegation selects its own members to sit on the assembly’s committees. Donaldson was appointed as the UK’s member of the assembly’s sub-committee on children in January 2011, a seat he held for a year.
During this time the assembly convened the first meeting of parliamentarians to stop sexual violence against children.
The sub-committee had five meetings, of which Donaldson attended two, the Sunday Times reported.
Donaldson was again appointed to a Council of Europe group on child protection, formed to attend a children’s rights conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in 2014.
Petra Bayr, president of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, said she was “appalled” by Donaldson’s conviction.
She added: “It goes without saying that the parliamentary assembly had no knowledge or suspicion of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Donaldson before he was charged and subsequently convicted.”
The Belfast Telegraph has reported that Donaldson also previously chaired the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group at Westminster.
Sinn Féin MP Cathal Mallaghan said: “These revelations are sickening, especially for the victims of Jeffrey Donaldson’s horrific crimes.
“Today’s article underlines the need for serious questions to be answered about Donaldson’s work at Westminster and his many trips abroad.
“Where did Donaldson travel on official Westminster business? Did his work on children’s rights bring him into contact with children?
“I have written to the Speaker of the British House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, demanding a full, independent investigation into Donaldson’s activities as an MP, including his overseas trips and work on children’s rights.
“The victims must remain at the centre of all of this, and our thoughts are with them. It was their courage that brought Donaldson to justice and put him behind bars.”
Donaldson was found guilty of 18 historical child sex offences against two women when they were children.
Last week the Metropolitan Police confirmed they are investigating Donaldson for a rape, allegedly carried out in his offices at Westminster in 2016.
The allegation was made to the PSNI earlier this year, who in turn passed the information to the Met two days before the former DUP leader was sentenced.
First reported by the Belfast Telegraph, the allegation involves a woman who was working in England at the time and says she was abused by Donaldson while on a tour of the House of Commons.