More than 100 victims of IRA terrorism today demanded a showdown with Jeremy Corbyn over his 'support for violent republicanism'.

In a public letter to the Labour leader they accuse him of not responding to an appeal in October for him to 'unequivocally condemn IRA terrorists'.

Mr Corbyn is a long-term supporter of Irish unity who has hosted Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness - a former IRA commander - in Parliament.

But the Labour Party insisted today that he 'was never a supporter of the IRA'.

Among the 102 people demanding a meeting are victims of the Enniskillen and Hyde Park atrocities.

Mark Tipper, whose brother Simon was one of four soldiers killed in the attack in Hyde Park in 1982, said: 'We could wake up on Friday morning and Corbyn could be prime minister.

'But to people like me, and to other victims, it feels like he supports terrorists more than the victims and more than the ordinary people of this country.'

Mr Corbyn, then a backbench Labour MP, with Gerry Adams in the House of Commons in 1995, before the Good Friday Agreement

Mark Tipper (left), whose brother Simon was killed in the attack in Hyde Park in 1982, said: 'We could wake up on Friday morning and (Jeremy) Corbyn (right, today) could be prime minister'

Mr Corbyn met with senior Sinn Fein leaders incluing Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness in Parliament as recently as 2015, the year he became Labour leader

The letter is supported by the political activism group Mainstream, which has produced a report highlighting Mr Corbyn's support for dissident republicanism.

In 1984, he hosted Linda Quigley and Gerard McLoughlin in Parliament less than a fortnight after the Brighton bombing that killed 13 Tory delegates visiting the party conference. Both were convicted IRA terrorists.

In 1986, Mr Corbyn was arrested as he took part in a protest outside the Old Bailey trial of the Brighton bomber Patrick Magee.

The letter to Mr Corbyn in full Dear Mr Corbyn On October 13th we wrote to you asking for you to unequivocally condemn IRA terrorists and to apologise for your support for violent republicanism. The letter was signed by nearly 40 victims of IRA terror attacks, but we have received no reply. We are writing again to seek a meeting with you which would give you and John McDonnell, the opportunity to meet victims of IRA atrocities and to hear first hand about the lasting impact of terrorism on innocent families. Your sincerely, 102 victims Advertisement

He met Gerry Adams in Parliament in 1995 - before the Good Friday Agreement - and again in 2015, along with Martin McGuinness and other Sinn Fein leaders.

And in 2000 the now Labour leader shared a platform with Brendan McKenna, who had been was jailed for a bombing in Portadown, at an event commemorating Bloody Sunday.

Boris Johnson has used Jeremy Corbyn's longstanding support for the IRA to undermine the Labour leader's security credentials as the race for Number 10 enters the home stretch.

In a fiery exchange during last Friday's BBC head-to-head in Maidstone, the PM used a question about the Union to dredge up his rival's sympathies with the terrorist nationalists.

He said: 'I do find it slightly curious to be lectured about the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by a man who all his political life has campaigned to break up that Union and who supported for four decades the IRA in their campaign violently to destroy it. I must say I find it a curiosity.'

Mr Johnson's blistering attack prompted thunderous applause from the studio audience, who were otherwise relatively muted during the hour-long programme.

The aftermath of the Hyde Park bombing carried out by the IRA in 1982 which killed 11 people and seven horses

Meeting: Gerard McLaughlin (far left) and Jeremy Corbyn (far right) with bespectacled Gerry Adams and Tony Benn at the House of Commons in 1994

Devastation: The aftermath of an IRA remote-controlled bomb at Chelsea Barracks in 1981

Protest: McLaughlin (left) and Corbyn at a Bloody Sunday 20th anniversary march in 1992

Mr Corbyn, who has been dogged by his relationships with the IRA since he became leader in 2015, deflected by veering the conversation on to Mr Johnson's Brexit deal.

Ex-Labour MP Ian Austin, the Mainstream chairman, said: 'Jeremy Corbyn was asked to apologise and failed to do so. It's understandable that the victims now want to put their case to him in person.

'He sided with Sinn Fein when their allies in the IRA were bringing death and destruction to both Britain and Northern Island.

'He has infected our national life with the virus of extremism. He is not fit to lead the Labour party and not fit to lead our country.'

'Corbyn has sometimes claimed that his closeness to Sinn Fein was part of some search for peace. But no one appears to have yet found any record of Corbyn ever meeting any loyalist groups. Any real peace campaigner knows you have to talk to both sides.'

But a Labour partry spokeswoman said: 'Jeremy was never a supporter of the IRA, and has always worked for peace and respect for human rights.

'He has also spoken about how the peace process in Northern Ireland has been a model for other countries trying to bring divided communities together on the basis of recognising different traditions.

'As Prime Minister, he will do everything necessary to keep our people safe.'

'Ian Austin is being bankrolled by the Conservatives and is backing the hard-right Tory Philip Davies. He is neither a mainstream nor a credible voice.'