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Politicians must stand together against sectarian murder in Northern Ireland in the same way that they have opposed the violence of dissident republicans, Martin McGuinness said today.

Deputy First Minister Mr McGuinness and First Minister Peter Robinson held talks at Stormont with chief constable Sir Hugh Orde on the sectarian killing of Catholic Kevin McDaid, who was beaten to death by a Protestant mob.

Mr McGuinness made his appeal standing on the same spot where, two months ago, he branded dissident republicans traitors to Ireland after their murder of two soldiers and a policeman.

Today’s meeting came after eight men appeared in court charged in connection with Mr McDaid’s murder.

Mr McGuinness said: “I stood in this very spot two months ago to express in the strongest possible terms my condemnation of the actions of so-called republican dissidents and the activities that they were involved in, inflicting great tragedies on three families.

“And I believe that it was the right thing to do.”

He added: “So I am here today to express my similar outrage at Kevin’s murder, to call upon all others to do the same.

“I think that it is incredibly important at this time that all of us are seen to be standing together against what is effectively hate crime.”

The Sinn Fein representative revealed that, this morning, he travelled to Co Derry where he held a private meeting with Mr McDaid’s wife, Evelyn, who was also injured during Sunday’s attack near the couple’s Somerset Drive home in
Coleraine.

Mr McGuinness also met relatives of Damien Fleming (46) who was attacked in the same incident and is fighting for his life in hospital.

Mr McGuinness said politicians faced a mammoth task in tackling what he described as “the monster of sectarianism”.

First Minister Mr Robinson said: “The divisions in our society stretch back over centuries.”

Flanking Mr McGuinness and the chief constable, he added that all politicians and senior figures had a responsibility to deliver a better society.

“The deputy first minister and I take our responsibility very seriously,” said Mr Robinson.

“It is vital that we not only give a lead, but we bring forward policies which encourage that cohesion within our community.”

Mr Robinson said an initiative was being planned for the area where Sunday’s attack took place.

Chief constable Sir Hugh said the investigation would receive all the resources it required and predicted that further arrests would be made in the case.

In March the dissident republican Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murders of soldiers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar at Massereene Army barracks in County Antrim.

Days later the Continuity IRA shot dead Constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon, County Armagh.

At the time Mr McGuinness branded dissidents as traitors to Ireland and said they were acting against the expressed wishes of the public across the island of Ireland who had voted in favour of the current power-sharing political institutions.