Gavin Robinson - interim DUP leader - and the man tasked with holding the party together

He takes over in unprecedented circumstances for both the DUP and unionism more widely. The party, and the movement, is riven with divisions over the out-workings of the Tory government’s post-Brexit deal with the EU.

The news that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is facing charges of historical sexual offences is a bombshell for a party already beset by very public divisions.

Had events unfolded in less extraordinary circumstances, Gavin Robinson would already have been a front runner as next leader – and may put his hat in the ring for the permanent post.

The East Belfast MP was a strong supporter of his party’s deal with the government, and is seen as being on the more socially liberal and pragmatic wing of the DUP.

He is liked across the party, and took a slightly more cautious line in how he sold the Safeguarding the Union deal than Sir Jeffrey Donaldson from the beginning.

On Friday evening he told the media “It has been a devastating revelation and has caused tremendous shock not just for myself personally or my colleagues within the DUP, but for the community right across Northern Ireland.

“It came as a great shock. But we are a party and individuals that believe in justice, we have faith in our criminal justice system.”

The East Belfast MP added: “In the immediate aftermath of such shocking news, there will be some, and there have already been some, who have sought to score cheap political points, who have sought to engage in conspiracy theories, who somehow enjoy or will manipulate such devastating news for those involved”.

Politically, there was little between Gavin Robinson and his predecessor. A strong backer of a return to power-sharing, Mr Robinson has claimed the government had created “constitutional harm” which the DUP had “repaired”. He also said the party had reduced friction on trade. Anti-deal members of the DUP reject that analysis.

On whether the Irish Sea border had been removed, he gave a more careful analysis than Sir Jeffrey Donaldson who claimed the deal “takes away the border within the UK”.

Asked about whether the Irish Sea border had been removed, the East Belfast MP said: “We have always said that there should be no barrier to trade within the United Kingdom and its internal market.

“The green lane is gone. The checks that were outlined within the green lane, within the Windsor Framework, are gone. There will be no checks – physical or identity checks – on goods moving from one part of our country to another within the internal market.

"The border posts are there for the red lane. And the red lane is there for goods that are moving to, or at risk of moving to, the European Union. So we have never taken issue with that.

“We have never taken issue with that – but we do take issue with the fact that there were checks”.

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