Sinn Féin calls on Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots to step aside while the DUP investigates allegations of inappropriate behaviour involving First Minister nominee Jeffrey Donaldson. Multiple reports say Sinn Féin is pressing Poots over his role in an earlier incident in which a woman raised concerns about Donaldson’s conduct. The calls come as Poots faces wider pressure from Stormont parties regarding what he did or did not do after the concerns were raised.
In response, one outlet reports that Poots denies protecting Donaldson, arguing that he would never have protected him “in any circumstance.” Another report frames the issue as Poots being caught in a dispute about the handling of the woman’s complaint or concerns. While details of the allegations are not set out in the provided summaries, the common thread across sources is that Sinn Féin links any future role for Poots to the outcome of the DUP investigation and the need for decisions to be seen as impartial during the process.
