UK Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien is to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later on Tuesday.

The move comes just days after the US announced that it would no-longer deal with Mr Arafat.

We have to be able to negotiate with somebody who represents the views of the Palestinian people

Number 10

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said Mr O'Brien's visit was a "familiarisation" tour of the region for the minister who has just been given responsibility for the Middle East.

He is also due to meet Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

Mr Blair's spokesman said: "We have said that we will continue to talk to those people who are the elected representatives of the Palestinian people, but as we have said in the past, we want to see the reform of the Palestinian Authority.

"We have to be able to negotiate with somebody who represents the views of the Palestinian people and who can deliver and it's no secret that, as the prime minister has said on several occasions, we believe that Yasser Arafat is somebody who has let down the Palestinian people."

Independent state

Number 10 added that the UK backed President George W Bush's plan for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

Mr O'Brien is on a familiarisation trip

He added: "As the prime minister has said we believe Yasser Arafat is somebody who has let down his people."

He went on: "The minister going there will be in a position to set out very clearly the British Government's view."

The move was welcomed by Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell who said it was an "entirely sensible decision" for Mr O'Brien to go to the region.

"Mike O'Brien should take every opportunity to emphasise that nothing less than wholesale condemnation of suicide bombings will suffice, and that every step must be taken by the Palestinian Authority to thwart the bombers," Mr Campbell said.

He added that Mr Arafat was "still the leader of the Palestinian people".

"No reasonable prospect for peace in the Middle East exists without his engagement.