AN SDLP councillor whose home was attacked after he criticised "punishment" beatings has said that he will not now be resigning from the party. Mr Hugh Lewsley, a member of Lisburn Council, had accused SDLP leaders of not offering him adequate support.
A concrete block was thrown through a bedroom window of his home in Twinbrook, on the out skirts of west Belfast, early on Wednesday morning just hours after he had appeared on a Channel Four documentary condemning "punishment" beatings.
Mr Lewsley a vehement critic of the IRA, was severely beaten by eight men in a "punishment" attack last year. He criticised his party leader, Mr John Hume, for accepting a statement from Sinn Fein saying that republicans were not involved.
After Wednesday's incident Mr Lewsley said that no one in his party seemed to be offering any help to end the attacks. He felt he had been "left out on a limb to suffer this type of behaviour from republicans".
However, after talking to senior party members, he said that he was now satisfied with the support they were offering. I am satisfied that punishment beatings have now been brought to the top of the agenda", he said.
Mr Lewsley said that he would give the names of the men who beat him up last year to his party leader. He expected Mr Hume to raise the matter with the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams.