Lady Donaldson's bid to have two charges dropped is adjourned

Lady Donaldson at a previous court appearance

A court has adjourned an application by Lady Donaldson to have two charges against her dropped in the sex offences case involving her husband Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former Democratic Unionist Party leader.

A new date will likely be set at some point later in January.

Lady Donaldson, 58, has previously pleaded not guilty to three other charges connected to aiding and abetting.

Sir Jeffrey, 62, is accused of 18 offences, including one count of rape, all of which he denies.

The offences were allegedly committed between 1985 and 2008.

The couple are due to stand trial at Newry Crown Court in March.

Lady Donaldson's no bill application, seeking to have two of the original five charges against her withdrawn, was due to be heard on Thursday.

But the court was told it could not proceed at present.

Her lawyer described the delay as unfortunate.

It is expected the situation will be clearer by next week, when a new date could be scheduled.

It is the second time her application has been put back.

A prosecution lawyer told the court that at this stage the trial date should not be affected.

The hearing lasted about five minutes and Lady Donaldson did not attend court.