Reform-led government that seeks to ‘double down on Brexit’ could be ‘accelerator’ towards Irish unity, former taoiseach says.
‘I think it’s healthy that political parties in the south are preparing and discussing this issue’
Matthew O’Toole at the panel discussion along with Leo Varadkar and Ian Marshall.
By David Young
June 25, 2026 at 4:31pm BST
A Reform-led government in the UK that seeks to “double down on Brexit” could act as an “accelerator” towards Irish reunification, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
Ireland’s current Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan also suggested that a rise in English nationalism could influence the debate on Northern Ireland’s constitutional future and potentially bring forward the timing of any future referenda on unity.
Mr O’Callaghan also restated his view that organisations such as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) could be retained in a united Ireland, and could work alongside Ireland’s Garda, much like separate police forces operate in different areas of England.
Both men made the comments as they took part in discussions at an event in Belfast focused on the future relationship between the island of Ireland and Britain and the prospect of Irish unification.
Former Fine Gael leader Mr Varadkar said the Brexit referendum had acted as an “accelerator for change” when it came to the debate on Northern Ireland’s future.
He said the election of a Reform UK government could have a similar effect, especially if the party pressed for a UK withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Such a move would pose profound questions for Northern Ireland, given much of the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998 is underpinned by the convention.
“I think there is a possibility that an accelerator could be a UK government led by Reform, led by Nigel Farage, that doubles down on Brexit, that takes this view that Brexit failed because it wasn’t done properly, and looks for a harder separation from the EU, and reopens these questions around ECHR, where the checks are done, and so on,” said Mr Varadkar.
“That’s a possibility, and it’s a possibility that might be closer than we think.”
Mr Varadkar said he considered a Reform-led government a “possibility” rather than a “probability”.
“I think, in the end, the UK won’t vote for Reform,” the former Irish premier said, as he suggested Andy Burnham may call, and win, a snap general election if elected Labour leader.
“I’m not predicting this, but I think we have to consider the possibility that a UK election, a UK Westminster election, which we were certain was going to be in 2029, now could happen in 2027 and there’s a possibility, although not a probability, that that could result in a Reform-led government or Reform/Conservative coalition, and we have to think about the consequences of that,” he said.
Mr Varadkar’s successor as Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, recently announced that his party would set out its vision for a united Ireland later this year.
“I was very happy about it, and I’m very glad to see that Fine Gael will be active in this space and part of this debate, so it was welcome,” Mr Varadkar told the Future of these Islands event.
Fianna Fáil TD Mr O’Callaghan said he was not concerned that Fine Gael had made that move on the issue of reunification.
“I think it’s healthy that political parties in the south are preparing and discussing this issue,” he said.
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, a border poll on reunification should be called in Northern Ireland by the incumbent Northern Ireland Secretary when he/she believes there is evidence that public opinion in the region has shifted in favour of constitutional change. In that event, a simultaneous poll would also be held in the Republic of Ireland.
Successive UK governments have consistently declined to specify publicly what criteria will be applied when measuring public sentiment on the issue.
Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously insisted the question of calling a referendum is “not even on the horizon”.
Mr O’Callaghan published his own paper in 2021 setting out his ideas on what a united Ireland could look like. Those included retaining a role for Stormont and the retention of the PSNI as a stand-alone police service for the region.
On Thursday, the justice minister said political events were likely to be inherently unpredictable in the coming 10 years.
Asked by reporters if he believed referenda could be held by the end of this decade, Mr O’Callaghan said that could be the case if Reform UK came to power.
“There could be (a poll in the next four years) if Reform came to power, if they decided that they wanted to get out of the European Convention on Human Rights and if that required them to dispense with Northern Ireland, that could occur, but I can’t predict the future,” he said.
“I don’t know a date as to when there will be a border poll, but I think it is worthwhile having discussions like this as we have had today.”
Mr O’Callaghan said there was an onus on future Irish governments to start planning for constitutional change.
He acknowledged that would create a “sensitive political issue” for the authorities in Dublin amid concerns about antagonising unionists in Northern Ireland.
The TD said he felt the way to address those sensitivities would be to initially frame the question in the context of the Republic of Ireland and its citizens, rather than broadening the debate to the whole island.
“I think a future Irish government is going to have to prepare for constitutional change,” he said.
“Obviously that decision and the process by which an Irish government prepares for it is a sensitive political issue in itself because we have to be conscious not represented in this room (the event venue in Belfast) is a significant population within Northern Ireland whose political representatives don’t want to engage with this issue.
“And how does an Irish government put in place a preparatory scheme which isn’t seen by unionism as being threatening or an attempt to steamroller them into something they don’t want to do, and that is a sensitive issue.”
On the potential of confining the planning to the Republic of Ireland in the first instance, Mr O’Callaghan added: “That is a sensitive way for the Irish state to put out what it is we’re prepared to do to achieve Irish reunification, and I think that could be seen as something that isn’t threatening or insensitive to other people. There are people in this room who may be completely unsupportive of that and they may say, ‘well, why aren’t people in Northern Ireland having a say in the future of our island?’.
“But I think it’s a sensitive way of starting the discussion by an Irish government in the south.”
SDLP leader Claire Hanna welcomed the contributions made during Thursday’s event at the MAC Belfast.
Afterwards she said the rise of English nationalism “looms quite large” in the debate on Irish unity.
“The prospect of a Reform-led or Reform-infused UK government is serious, and every single speaker acknowledged the reality of that and the potential it would have,” she told reporters.
“Both they (Reform UK) could decide they just wanted to dispense with this region, or some of their platforms and proposals – things like leaving the European Convention on Human Rights – could create a challenge and create a crisis. That is why we are arguing for prudent planning.”
Jeffrey Donaldson’s mentor Enoch Powell long rumoured to have preyed on young boys in NI.
‘Rivers of blood’ firebrand said to have abused victims at hotels on north coast.
Enoch Powell and Jeffrey Donaldson in 1987
Andrew Madden
City Reporter
25 Jun 2026 6:10 AM
Enoch Powell, Jeffrey Donaldson’s political mentor, was accused of paedophilia dating back to the mid-1980s.
Donaldson served as Powell’s constituency agent during his time as South Down MP, and the former DUP leader’s offending, beginning in 1985, overlaps with the period in which he was close to Powell.
When speaking about his background in the dock during his trial, Donaldson never mentioned Powell by name, referring to him only as “the local MP” he once worked for.
Powell is known for his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, which ended his mainstream political career, being sacked from then Conservative leader Edward Heath’s shadow cabinet the following day.
He dramatically left the Conservative Party five days before the snap general election in February 1974, mainly over policy on the European Economic Community.
The contest resulted in a hung parliament, and another general election was called for October.
The UUP then recruited Powell to stand in the South Down constituency. It was a move that suited both sides, with the UUP securing one of Great Britain’s most popular politicians, and Powell getting a seat.
His joining of the UUP was not that unusual. He was a frequent visitor to Northern Ireland and strongly supported maintaining the Union, fearing the knock-on effect Northern Ireland leaving could have in Scotland and Wales.
After Powell was elected, the then 20-year-old Donaldson, at that point relatively unknown, became his constituency agent, spearheading his successful bids to retain the seat in 1983 and 1986.
As a constituency agent, he was effectively Powell’s right-hand man, and as his election agent, he ran his campaigns.
During this time, rumours began circulating that Powell had a fondness for young boys, meeting them in hotels on the north coast.
Fleet Street is said to have investigated the claims, which did not become public knowledge in Powell’s lifetime.
Powell and Donaldson’s friendship grew during their time together, with the future DUP leader joining the MP and his wife, Pam, on picnics in the Mournes.
“Jeffrey Donaldson learnt a lot from working with, and often just listening to, the South Down MP,” Donaldson’s authorised biography, Not By Might: A Journey in Faith and Politics, reads.
“When exposed to the breadth and depth of Enoch Powell’s intelligence and knowledge, he felt strangely privileged. It was like being a young student who had been accorded a prized place at the feet of an eminent philosopher or theologian.”
Powell arranged a place for Donaldson, who left school with few qualifications, at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, he turned down the offer, meeting his future wife, Eleanor, soon after and taking up a role as personal assistant to UUP leader Jim Molyneaux.
While he began working for Molyneaux in 1985, he remained close to Powell, serving as his election agent for his successful 1986 South Down by-election. Powell lost his seat in the general election the following year.
Decades later, after his death, rumours that he had a sexual interest in young boys re-emerged.
It was reported in March 2015 that, the previous year, the Church of England’s lead on safeguarding, Bishop of Durham Paul Butler, had handed Powell’s name to police over allegations of child sexual abuse.
At the time, Scotland Yard was investigating claims of a VIP paedophile ring with links to Westminster allegedly operating out of Elm Guest House and Grafton Close children’s home in London.
Dominic Walker, the former Bishop of Monmouth, also passed Powell’s name to police, along with that of Leo Abse, the late Welsh MP.
The Rt Rev Walker had heard the allegations regarding Powell when he was counselling abuse victims in the 1980s.
A Church of England spokesman said in March 2015: “The name of Enoch Powell was passed to Operation Fernbridge by one of our safeguarding teams on the instruction of Bishop Paul Butler.”
Scotland Yard said at the time: “We do not identify individuals that are subject of investigation.”
Operation Fernbridge, launched in 2013, saw charges filed against two men, including Catholic priest Fr Anthony McSweeney, who was found guilty of abusing a boy and jailed for three years in March 2015.
The other man charged, John Stingemore, was found dead at his home before he could stand trial.
Following McSweeney’s sentencing, Operation Fernbridge was closed, and investigations into Elm Guest House were taken over by detectives working on a probe named Operation Athabasca.
By the time Operation Athabasca closed, “no person of prominence” had been conclusively identified as having abused a child at the property, according to a senior Met Police officer involved in the investigation.
One child, however, was removed from Elm Guest House and found to have been abused, and the owners of the property were found guilty of running a brothel.
When the allegations regarding Powell, who died in 1998, emerged in the press, his biographer, Simon Heffer, denounced them as “appalling slurs”.
He said the “outrageous allegation” about an “enormously distinguished public figure who cannot defend himself” would cause the “deepest distress to his family and friends”.
Fewer than three years later, further allegations about Powell would be made by Richard Kerr, a former resident of both Williamson House and the Kincora Boys’ Home, Belfast institutions where dozens of children were sexually abused in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mr Kerr said that in 1973 or 74, when he was 12 or 13, he was taken from Williamson House, which was closed in 1983 and demolished, to be abused by Powell at a guest house near Portrush, and again at a hotel in Belfast city centre in 1977.
With these allegations dating to the 1970s, they appear to be separate from those referred to police by the Right Rev Butler, which related to the mid-1980s.
Mr Kerr is currently involved in legal action against the Northern Ireland Office, the Department of Health, the PSNI and the Home Office over the abuse he suffered at Williamson House and Kincora.
Donaldson stayed close friends with Powell, who was guest of honour at his wedding to Eleanor Donaldson in 1987, until his death, visiting him at his home in London a month before he passed away.
When Powell died in February 1998, Donaldson offered his condolences.
“Obviously, on a personal level, it is very sad news, and our nation will mourn the loss of a man who was a true statesman and held in very high regard,” he said.
“I think, as people look over his remarkable political career, they will come to regard him as a man with great insight and intellect.
“It would be true to say that many of his predictions of the 1960s and 1970s have been proven true in the 1980s and 1990s.”
This would not be the last time Donaldson spoke about his mentor.
When he gave evidence during his trial for a litany of child sex offences, for which he was found guilty, Donaldson spoke of his background, of leaving school at 16 and working as an apprentice electrical engineer, before joining the Young Unionists at 18.
Not referring to Powell by name, perhaps knowing the rumours that surrounded him, Donaldson said he then “worked for my local MP for three years”.
Eleanor Donaldson could now face civil case after avoiding prison for aiding and abetting her husband’s abuse.
The 60-year-old was ruled unfit to face a criminal trial.
Eleanor Donaldson arrives at Newry Court in June 2025.
By Conor Sheils
June 24, 2026 at 6:00am BST
Eleanor Donaldson could now face a civil case after avoiding prison despite aiding and abetting her husband’s sexual abuse, the Irish News can reveal.
The 60-year-old was deemed unfit to face a criminal trial on mental health grounds.
Instead, she faced a trial of the facts, a legal process in which a jury determines only whether she committed the acts, with no conviction and no sentence possible.
On Monday, the jury found that Eleanor Donaldson had committed four counts of aided and abetting her husband’s sexual abuse and one count of child cruelty.
No judicial repercussions are possible for her due to the nature of a trial of the facts.
However, legal sources told The Irish News that Monday’s ruling could open the possibility for other judicial avenues, such as a civil case being taken against her or her estate.
“If a person has been found responsible for the acts, that’s at the criminal standard – which is higher than the civil standard,” a Belfast solicitor said.
“The injured parties could potentially have a strong basis for a civil action.”
The criminal standard requires a finding beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities.
It is understood that Eleanor Donaldson’s unfitness to participate in criminal proceedings could also be invoked to resist involvement in civil litigation.
However, if she were found to lack capacity, legal sources told The Irish News that a civil action could potentially still be taken against her estate, a route available in cases where the defendant is deceased or incapacitated.
During the trial, the court was told how Eleanor Donaldson facilitated the rape of Complainant B by her husband.
The jury also heard how Eleanor witnessed Jeffrey Donaldson sexually assault Complainant B, before turning and walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.
The trial was told how Complainant A disclosed Jeffrey Donaldson’s abuse to Eleanor, but that the matter was “brushed under the carpet”.
Eleanor told police that she had never witnessed any inappropriate behaviour by her husband and denied she had carried out the acts.
However, the jury of seven men and five women found that she had.
Eleanor Donaldson cannot be sent to prison despite a jury finding she aided and abetted her husband’s abuse, including rape, and carried out child cruelty.
However, the evidence established during the trial, including witness testimony heard by the jury, could now prove significant in any subsequent civil proceedings against her.
Jeffrey Donaldson: What happens now for former DUP leader convicted of child sex offences and wife Eleanor.
Following the guilty verdict being delivered by the jury at Newry Crown Court on Monday, Donaldson was immediately remanded into custody.
Eleanor and Jeffrey Donaldson.
By Staff Reporter
June 22, 2026 at 6:33pm BST
Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was taken straight to HMP Maghaberry on Monday following his conviction for historical sex offences against two child victims.
His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was found to have aided and abetted his crimes, however she will not be held criminally responsible or face prison as she was ruled not medically fit to face trial.
The case has taken more than two years to reach a verdict after the husband and wife’s arrests for the offences in 2024.
What happens now for one of the most recognisable faces in Northern Ireland politics, and his wife?
When will Jeffrey Donaldson be sentenced?
Following the guilty verdict being delivered by the jury at Newry Crown Court on Monday, Donaldson was immediately remanded into custody.
He was taken from the court to a police van where he was transported to Maghaberry to begin his stint in prison.
Judge Paul Ramsey said the former politician can expect to receive a “lengthy” custodial sentence for his crimes.
However, that sentence is unlikely to be delivered for several months.
There will be a review hearing on September 11 before a pre-sentencing hearing on September 25 at the same court.
During sentencing, Judge Ramsey will consider aggravating and mitigating factors which may contribute to the length of the sentence Donaldson will receive.
The judge also said Donaldson would be placed on the sex offender register.
He is likely to be placed on a dedicated wing of the prison for sex offenders, which sits within the Lagan Valley constituency he used to represent as an MP.
What happens now for Eleanor Donaldson?
Eleanor Donaldson, 60, has been found to have aided and abetted her husband in sex abuse, but was ruled unfit to stand trial.
Rather than face the conventional criminal process, she has been subject to what is known as a ‘trial of the facts’.
This is a separate procedure in which the jury assesses the evidence to determine whether she carried out the acts alleged, but cannot return a guilty verdict and cannot impose any criminal conviction.
Having been found by the jury to have committed the acts, the case passes to the judge, who must choose from a limited number of options as set out in law.
These include a hospital order, under which she could be detained indefinitely subject to review by the Mental Health Review Tribunal; a guardianship order, placing her in the care of a nominated individual; or a supervision and treatment order requiring her to undertake specified medical treatment.
If none of those disposals is deemed appropriate — for instance, if medical professionals do not recommend detention or supervision — the only remaining option is an absolute discharge, where she would essentially walk free.
Will they lose their titles?
In mere minutes following the guilty verdict being delivered on Monday, calls were made by some politicians in Northern Ireland for the Donaldsons to lose their titles of ‘Sir’ and ‘Lady’.
Donaldson holds the title ‘Sir’ after being awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2016, while his wife Eleanor holds the title of ‘Lady’ as a result.
Whitehall sources told The Irish News that anyone convicted of a sexual offence would be considered for forfeiture of their honour, as would a person found to have committed such an act following a ‘trial of the facts’.
The decision will rest with the Honours Forfeiture Committee, a Cabinet Office body that advises the King on whether honours should be withdrawn.
Keir Starmer has resigned as British Prime Minister and leader of the British Labour Party.
In a statement outside 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he will do everything he can to ensure an orderly handover of power, and will give his successor his full support.
He claimed every decision he made in office has been about “putting the country I love first”.
Starmer said that after leaving the “biggest job in the country” he will spend more time on “the most important job”.
“Being the best husband I can, to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad that I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and joy.”
Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory at the 2024 general election, with the largest Labour majority in a generation, ending fourteen years of Conservative government and becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown.
But he will go down in history as statistically the worst ever British Prime Minister, his decline in public support making him the most unpopular since records began.
His reign was bracketed by two shocking acts which exposed the puppet-like nature of his administration — the appointment of his US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, for whom it emerged he had breached security protocols, despite being aware of his ties to an Israeli-run ‘elite’ paedophile ring.
The pre-announcement yesterday of his resignation by US President Donald Trump was a telling humiliation, the former host of ‘The Apprentice’ TV show appearing to deliver the final blow by offering his own obituary on Mandelson’s premiership.
In fact, Starmer’s resignation had been predicted since Labour’s disastrous result in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, but it was another by-election that would ensure his departure – in Makerfield last week, his likely successor, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, was comfortably elected as an MP to allow him to take over the helm as British Prime Minister.
Long a supporter, Starmer’s unwavering defence of Israel was the primary reason for his downfall. His overt defence of the deliberate starvation of Palestinians, as well as his more secretive provision of RAF support for the physical bombardment of Gaza, will be examined in future investigations into the genocide. His imprisonment of Palestine activists as ‘terrorists’ has also wrecked British civil liberties and sharply contrasted with his previous employment as a human rights lawyer and barrister.
However, the collapse in support for his party has allowed for a major transformation in British politics and may offer his most enduring legacy. It has seen the rise of the Green Party to become the main contender on the left for the formation of the next British government, and has driven support for Scottish and Welsh nationalism to once again place the future of the union at the heart of British politics.
Sinn Féin has not yet commented on the development, but in a social media post, Matthew O’Toole, SDLP leader of the opposition at Stormont, noted there will have been seven British Prime Ministers in less than a decade.
“The UK is now a poorer and less stable country, which means conversations about constitutional change are not simply nationalist aspiration, but an understandable reaction to the real destabilisation of the British state,” he wrote.
“That instability and economic underperdormance affects so much that it is natural to explore change.”
