Blair holds talks with Sharon

Tony Blair will today battle to repair the Middle East peace process by asking Israeli premier Ariel Sharon to make more concessions.

He will risk a bruising rebuff over dinner in Downing Street by urging the release of Palestinian prisoners and a symbolic reduction of security posts at the West Bank.

The plea looks set to receive a cool response. Mr Sharon will highlight the continued threat to Israel from terrorists - underlined by the arrest of a Real IRA bomb-maker in Palestinian territory.

The 40-year-old man, travelling on a British passport, is a known Republican terrorist and was seized at a roadblock near Yasser Arafat's headquarters at Ramallah, Israeli sources said.

He is being interrogated about alleged links between the Real IRA and Palestinian terrorists, amid suspicions he had been "hired" to train militants.