Jeffrey Donaldson: NEW Allegations, Secret Payments & Overseas Trips

So what exactly has emerged? What do the official documents show then? First the most serious new development because on the 21st of October it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were investigating an allegation of rape dating back to 2016.

Now according to reporting from the PA news agency and the Belfast Telegraph the allegation involves a woman who says that she was raped by Jeffrey Donaldson while visiting the Houses of Parliament.

The Belfast Telegraph reported that she had been working in England at the time and that the alleged incident took place during a tour of the House of Commons.

Now, the Metropolitan Police, they confirmed that they had received the report from the PSNI on Tuesday the 13th of October, just two days before Donaldson was sentenced.

Police said the investigation was in its early stages and that one woman was being supported by specialist officers and that no arrests had been made at the time of their statement.

Donaldson was sentenced on the 15th of October after being convicted of the 18 historical sexual offences against two women when they were children.

Now, another development has raised serious questions about Donaldson's parliamentary career and that's according to the Sunday Times he was twice appointed to international parliamentary bodies concerned with protecting children.

So in January 2011, Donaldson became the UK's representative on a Council of Europe parliamentary subcommittee dealing with children.

So the Council of Europe is separate from the European Union and has a parliamentary assembly made up of representatives from national parliaments.

So Donaldson held that position for approximately one year, and during that period, the Assembly convened its first meeting aimed at stopping sexual violence against children.

The Sunday Times reported that the subcommittee held five meetings, of which Donaldson attended two.

Then, in 2014, he was appointed to another Council of Europe group associated with a children's rights conference in Croatia.

Separately, the Belfast Telegraph has reported that he previously chaired the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection group At Westminster, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly said it had no knowledge or suspicion of Donaldson's crimes before he was charged and convicted.

And the important distinction here is that there's been no evidence in the material that has been seen yet that Donaldson's committed offences through those children's rights rules.

But those appointments have prompted calls for greater scrutiny of his time in Parliament.

Sinn Féin MP Cathal Mallon has written to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, demanding a full independent investigation into Donaldson's activities as an MP.

He wants answers about where Donaldson travelled, on official business, the work that he carried out and whether his children's rights responsibilities brought him into contact with children.