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Adams to tell Blair: "It's time for Britain to go"

It was then that Michael Collins negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty with David Lloyd George which lead to the partition of Ireland.

Also present will be the Northern Ireland secretary, Mo Mowlam, and Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness.

Mr Blair and Mr Adams met at Stormont in October this year sparking controversy when they shook hands, even though their meeting - and the handshake - took place in private.

Later in the day Mr Blair was barracked by Unionists who wore rubber gloves to signify their disapproval. Mr Adams said in a newspaper interview that he had been impressed by the Prime Minister.

However, he has promised to be forthright with Mr Blair on his visit to Downing Street: "For the first time since 1921, a British Prime Minister is going to hear Irish republicans politely, but very firmly, tell him that it's time to go - that it is time for Britain to end its constitutional claim to a part of our country."

There will be no photographs of the Sinn Fein delegation with Mr Blair or Dr Mowlam. Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness will give a press conference outside Number 10 after the meeting but Mr Blair will not attend and there will be no filming inside the Prime Minister's residence.

Critics of the meeting point out that it is only seven years since, during the Gulf War, the IRA fired mortar bombs at Downing Street where the then Prime Minister, John Major, was holding a meeting of his war cabinet.

The Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman, Andrew Mackay, is sceptical and has said the meeting is "distinctly premature" and a "propaganda coup for IRA Sinn Fein". But the Liberal Democrats' leader, Paddy Ashdown, an Ulsterman by birth, has praised Tony Blair for his courage.

Not surprisingly, many Unionists are vehemently opposed to the meeting. Ken Maginnis, the Ulster Unionist Party's security spokesman, who once appeared alongside Mr Adams on CNN's Larry King Live programme in the US, has said that it "could plunge Northern Ireland into a Doomesday situation".

However, Mr Blair and Dr Mowlam both seem determined to keep the dialogue going in the peace process, despite the criticisms.

The IRA called a ceasefire in the summer and Sinn Fein signed up to the Mitchell principles in order to win its place at the negotiating table. This prompted some disaffected republicans, angry at the concessions, to leave the IRA, which left the peace process in a precarious state.

Many republicans hope that the continued dialogue may eventually lead to the Government holding a new inquiry into the events of 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 when 14 civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights demonstration in Londonderry.

The Irish Government recently presented the Northern Ireland office with new evidence surrounding Bloody Sunday and the British government is thought to be considering a review. The killings have long been the cause of anger and resentment within the nationalist community in Northern Ireland.

As well as the peace process, it is likely that Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness will wish to put their case for being allowed access to House of Commons facilities.

Sinn Fein supporters see it as remarkable that their two elected MPs have been invited to a meeting with the Prime Minister, yet they are still unable to take advantage of parliamentary facilities.

Last week the Speaker reaffirmed her decision of May 14 that those who choose not to take their seats should not have access to the benefits and facilities available in the House without also taking up their responsibilities as members.

Both Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness won their seats with sizeable majorities at the May general election but still refuse to take the Oath of allegiance to the Queen.

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