The home of one of the men publicly linked to the murder of south Armagh man Paul Quinn has been attacked four times, the local MP said last night.
Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy blamed Lord Laird after he used parliamentary privilege in the Lords last Monday to accuse the man. The Sinn Fein MP claimed a tipper lorry had been burned and the family home again targeted last night.
Cullyhanna resident Mr Quinn (21) was beaten to death by nine men using iron bars at a farm in Co Monaghan last month.
Mr Murphy said: "There is also a strong belief within this community that this attack is a result of the blatant public finger pointing by those who, in the wake of Paul Quinn's murder, publicly identified this respected family as being involved in the young man's death.
"Those who were and continued to be engaged in this finger pointing cannot disassociate themselves from the consequences of their actions."
The MP claimed the perpetrators were aiming to exploit the brutal murder and were intent on causing intimidation and fear.
Ulster Unionist peer Lord Laird alleged Mr Quinn had been killed as a result of a dispute with the son of a senior republican from the area.
He asserted that IRA or former IRA members were involved in his death. Mr Quinn died after being assaulted at a farm near Castleblaney last month. No-one has been charged in connection with his death.
Lord Laird said he did not want to comment. SDLP Assembly member Dominic Bradley said justice for the Quinn family should not be sacrificed for political expediency.
"From the very first, the Garda information indicated clear paramilitary involvement, as did all the information circulating in the area," he said.