Former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has arrived at court in Newry to face a raft of sex offence charges.

He is now being accused of a total of 18 offences, after the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) considered the police evidence.

Initially, when he appeared in court in April, the ex-MP was accused of 11 offences.

His wife and co-accused, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, is to face five charges.

Originally it was four.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between 1985 and 2008 and involve two alleged victims.

Sir Jeffrey and his wife were arrested at their County Down home on 28 March.

Following a day of questioning, the couple were charged by police with separate offences and both released on bail.

Sir Jeffrey quit as DUP leader with immediate effect after he was charged, but at the time he remained in post as MP for Lagan Valley.

However, in May his solicitor confirmed that Sir Jeffrey would not contest the next general election.

When Parliament was dissolved on 30 May to facilitate a snap general election in July, Sir Jeffrey automatically lost his seat, along with all other sitting MPs.

The couple’s first court appearance in relation to the historical sex abuse charges took place in Newry on 24 April.

For that preliminary hearing there was a huge media presence outside the court as Sir Jeffrey arrived.

Police officers formed a protective line to hold the crowd back as the former politician made his way inside the building. His wife arrived separately.

During the seven-minute hearing the couple spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth, and to say they understood the charges.

As is usual practice in a first court appearance, neither defendant was asked to formally enter a plea.

They will be given an opportunity to answer the charges at a later stage of proceedings.

On Tuesday, news broke that Sir Jeffrey would face additional charges.

Initially, the ex-MP had been accused of 11 offences.

The case has come back to court since for another preliminary hearing, but Wednesday was only the second time the couple have been order to appear in person.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was elected leader of the DUP in 2021.

He was Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, having been first elected to Parliament in 1997 as a representative of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

He first entered politics when he worked for MP Enoch Powell between 1982 and 1984 after joining the UUP.

Sir Jeffrey’s own career in front-line politics began in 1985 when he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as its youngest member.

In 2003, he left the UUP to join the DUP due to his long-standing opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the leadership of David Trimble.

Sir Jeffrey recently steered the DUP back into government in Northern Ireland ending a two-year boycott of the devolved institutions.

He was knighted in 2016 for political service.

He married his wife Eleanor in 1987.