Donaldson's first night in prison as downfall shakes NI politics

Jeffrey Donaldson is spending his first night behind bars in Maghaberry Prison.

It is a place he knows well having visited it many times as the local MP.

But never did he think one day that cell door would close behind him and his liberty would be gone.

He has been told to expect a "lengthy sentence" for a string of child sex crimes including rape.

He will face up to 12 hours a day in the cell which he may have to share with another inmate.

According to prison sources he will be kept under tight observation through his first night.

Later on Tuesday he will have his breakfast on the landing with other prisoners on the wing.

That will be a sobering moment for Donaldson and he is likely to attract lots of attention from the other prisoners.

Not all of it positive.

His mobile phone will have been taken and he will have little contact with the outside world.

He will be able to use the phones on the landings and will be entitled to one visit every four weeks.

His dramatic downfall has shaken Northern Ireland's battle-hardened political landscape to its core.

It also triggered a political earthquake at the heart of the largest unionist party - the DUP, which it has still not fully recovered from.

The man known affectionately within unionist circles as just "Jeffrey" is now facing the humiliation of spending a lengthy period in prison and having his many honours stripped away with his reputation in tatters.

Donaldson's demise was laid bare in graphic detail over the course of his four-week trial.

Throughout some harrowing testimony he sat defiant with his arms folded.

According to those who know him best it was classic Donaldson, giving nothing away in the most pressurised of environments.

For them there was never any doubt that he would take the stand.

As a skilled politician with decades of experience of dealing with difficult questions he backed himself to convince the jury of his innocence.

But it didn't work.

The Donaldson downfall has also come at a cost to the DUP.

The former leader was suspended from the party after his arrest and then automatically expelled after two years passed in March in keeping with DUP rules.

During that time the party has steered clear of any public comment to allow "justice to take its course".

But privately the DUP has felt betrayed and disillusioned by the actions of their former leader.

Some within the party blamed him for the loss of three Westminster seats two years ago.