The McCartney sisters are vowing to use their time in America to strip the IRA of its "romantic" image.

They said they intended to tell President  Bush, who they will meet in the White House tomorrow, about the murder of their brother Robert in Belfast.

One of the sisters, Catherine, said they would take aim at the IRA's support in the US.

"What we want Americans to know is that any romantic vision they had of the struggle should now be dispelled," she said.

"The struggle in terms of what it was 10 years ago is now over and we are now dealing with criminal gangs that are still using the cloak of romanticism around the IRA to murder people on the streets and walk away from it."

Meanwhile, Seamus Mallon, of the moderate SDLP and one of the architects of the Good Friday agreement, has accused Tony Blair of pandering to Sinn Fein demands.

Mallon said the prime minister had acted in bad faith by making private deals with Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, while ignoring other politicians.