The SDLP leader John Hume has been awarded the freedom of Derry at a reception in the city's Guildhall. The Nobel peace laureate said that he was very honoured to receive the award. Some Unionist councillors boycotted the ceremony, claiming Mr Hume had failed to serve the Protestant community, but he shrugged off their criticism as knee-jerk and predictable.
Earlier a DUP councillor, Gregory Campbell, claimed that Mr Hume had failed Derry's minority Protestant community, who had been subjected to sectarian abuse, and many of whom had left the city. However, the city's mayor, Pat Ramsey said that most people in Derry were of a different opinion.
