Tony Blair met with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in Downing Street last night.

The talks took place before today's international conference in London aimed at preparing the Palestinian Authority for eventual peace negotiations with Israel.

Foreign ministers from 23 states, including the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, are due to attend.

There will also be representatives from six organisations, including Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, and Javier Solana, foreign affairs spokesman for the European Union.

The conference will look mainly at reform of the Palestinian security services, the economy, and government.