In a significant policy shift the British government plans to admit Sinn Fein into a protection scheme normally available only to judges, MPs and other VIPs needing special security in the North.
In theory, this would entitle prominent Sinn Fein figures to have RUC bodyguards and cars with armour-plating.
However, it is expected that the party will not accept personal RUC protection, opting instead for funding for sophisticated security equipment to be installed at members' homes as well as at their offices. No Sinn Fein spokesperson was available to comment on the matter last night.
The Irish Times has learned that the Northern Ireland security minister, Mr Adam Ingram, is to write to the party to inform it of the government decision.
It is understood that Sinn Fein's two MPs, Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness, will be admitted into the Key Persons Protection Scheme, along with the leading Belfast councillor, Mr Alex Maskey, who has survived several loyalist assassination attempts.
In theory, membership also entitles individuals to personal protection weapons and arms training, although it is not clear whether these options would be offered to Sinn Fein.
A Northern Ireland Office spokesman said he could neither confirm nor deny the reports. "It is not our practice to discuss publicly the circumstances of individuals."
Until now it has been mainly unionist MPs, judges and senior civil servants who have been granted protection. Some SDLP politicians have also received help, but Sinn Fein leaders had previously been refused on the grounds that their party was the IRA's political wing.
The policy reversal has been prompted by the British government's desire to strengthen support for the peace process among republicans through confidence building measures.
It also reflects growing concern in official circles about a potential split in the republican movement which could lead to supporters of the peace process being targeted by IRA dissidents.
According to British government guidelines, the Key Persons Protection Scheme is for individuals whose "death or injury from terrorist attack could seriously undermine the democratic framework and effective administration of government or the maintenance of law and order".
Sinn Fein's admission is expected to enrage both unionists and republican hard-liners who will see it as another sell-out. It is understood that no decision has been taken to admit the Progressive Unionist Party or Ulster Democratic Party to the scheme.
Sinn Fein has been demanding protection since the loyalist assassination campaign of the early 1990s. Some 13 party members, including three councillors, were killed in the run-up to the 1994 ceasefire.
The protection issue was raised by Sinn Fein negotiators at the Stormont talks. It is understood that the British government now accepts that, since Sinn Fein has signed up to the Mitchell Principles, it should be treated like any other party.
Many Sinn Fein members have already substantial security at their houses, which the party has paid for itself, including bullet-proof windows and doors, steel shutters and metal caging at the top and bottom of the stairs.
However, Mr Adams, Mr McGuinness and Mr Maskey will now be able to have even more up-to-date and sophisticated equipment installed in their homes and offices.
It is understood that the installation of these measures was a subject of lengthy debate between the British government and Sinn Fein.
Usually, a contractor close to the RUC carries out the work. However, Sinn Fein rejected this option. It demanded a blank cheque and said it would choose its own building firms. Republican sources said the government found this unacceptable but a compromise was reached whereby the North's Housing Executive would carry out the work.