Alison Morris

Alison Morris was in court.

Alison, the defence barrister acting for Geoffrey Donaldson said that there had been a breakdown in Geoffrey Donaldson's marriage in 2020.

Alison, this was the third day of evidence.

Witness A was cross-examined by Ciarán Vaughan on behalf of Geoffrey Donaldson.

Now, in the previous day's evidence, the court was told the witness received a letter of apology from Geoffrey Donaldson and she was cross-examined in relation to that letter.

Now, Mr Vaughan claimed that Complainant A had not made the police aware of the context when she gave them the letter that we referred to earlier after they interviewed her in March 2024.

She also told the jury, I understand that she was conditioned to accept abuse, later saying, I am a Christian and I stand by my faith.

Challenged by Mr Vaughan over what he described as inconsistencies between her evidence in court and what she had told a police officer, she said, she insisted, the facts are the facts.

Now, Mr Vaughan then went on, he also questioned her about specific allegations that she's made.

And he put it to her that was inconsistent with what she had said yesterday about touching underclothes.

He then asked her if she was suggesting that she had not known until she was an adult that what she claimed had happened to her was wrong.

Can you tell us more about that?

Just a reminder to the listener that both Geoffrey Donaldson and Lady Eleanor Donaldson deny all of the charges against them.

Witness A was also asked by Mr Vaughan why she hadn't reported the abuse when in 2023 she met with police along with the head of safeguarding from the Presbyterian Church and her own minister.

Alison Morris, thank you very much.

Tessa, this is the first episode of Seachtain.

There's a new episode every Thursday with stories and stories about your life on the island.

It was like I was talking to the audience team.

He did, yes, and he explained to the jurors that this was going to be a case where they would hear allegations of a sexual nature and he obviously let out what the role of the jury was going to be in this kind of case.

It's