‘HE BETRAYED US’ FAMILY OF DUP MP DAVID SIMPSON SAY THEY FEEL LET DOWN BY ALLEGED AFFAIR
DUP man has moved out of luxury home in Portadown
THE family of DUP MP David Simpson say they have been “totally betrayed and deceived” by his alleged affair with a party activist almost half his age.
Our sister paper Sunday Life yesterday revealed that the woman linked to the 59-year-old Upper Bann MP is a close friend of the family.
Mr Simpson has left the luxury home near Portadown he shared with his wife Elaine after she accused him of having an affair.
It’s believed the MP is now living in a bachelor apartment just a few miles away in Markethill.
Elaine Simpson (57) is herself well respected within the DUP and has been married to the devout Free Presbyterian and senior Orangeman for 37 years.
The couple have three children — Kristy, Steven and Leah — all aged in their late 20s.
Mr Simpson has been an outspoken advocate of traditional Christian values and is also an ardent opponent of same-sex marriage.
His son-in-law Aaron Gray, who is married to Kristy, has named the woman concerned and revealed she had attended a number of special family events.
The woman is in her 30s, married and an active DUP member in Upper Bann.
When contacted, the woman concerned said she had “absolutely no comment to make”.
Nor would she say anything when it was put to her that Simpson’s own family were naming her as their father’s lover.
“The family feel totally betrayed and deceived by both David and her,” Mr Gray said.
“She was looked upon as a close personal friend to all the family.
“It’s devastating,” he added. “As I’m sure you are aware, it is a very hard time for the family.”
The alleged affair between the politician and the local party activist has rocked the DUP in Upper Bann, with one senior figure saying: “I don’t believe David Simpson will ever stand for the party again.”
Mr Gray said he is upset that the woman could not be named by the press.
A weary looking Mr Simpson returned to the green benches of the House of Commons last week alongside party colleagues Gavin Robinson, Jim Shannon, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds, but didn’t speak during any of the sittings.
However, he did submit eight written questions to various government departments on topics including police station closures, problem gambling and male mental health.
Mr Simpson has been the MP for Upper Bann since unseating the then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble in 2005.
His exile from the family home in Co Armagh is doubly difficult for Mr Simpson as it sits just yards from the factory door of his multi-million pound Universal Meat Company.
Mr Simpson, who is head of the House of Commons Orange Lodge, is also believed to be under pressure within his local district in the Portadown area.
The DUP man has declined to comment.
When contacted, Orange Order Grand Chaplain Mervyn Gibson had no comment to make on the situation, saying it was “a family matter”.
Simpson’s daughter Leah, who he and his wife adopted from Paraguay, has spoken about her father’s alleged affair.
The breakdown of the marriage was initially confirmed to Sunday Life by Leah who said the family just wanted “to get on with our lives”.
“It’s true and my mum’s priority and our priority at the moment is just to get on with our lives,” she said.
“She did ask him to leave when she found out, but as I said our foremost priority is to get through the next weeks and months ahead.”