Home Secretary Alan Johnson has called for a debate on immigration following a visit by BNP leader Nick Griffin to Glasgow to campaign for the forthcoming Glasgow North East by-election.

Mr Johnson made the call during a visit to the city to support Labour candidate Willie Bain along with Chancellor Alistair Darling, while Mr Griffin also made a visit to his party's campaign on Monday. Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was also in the constituency on Monday.

Mr Johnson said: "Let's not have a debate as if, on the one hand, there's an argument for an open door policy and on the other hand the argument is to close the door completely.

"No-one in mainstream politics is arguing for any of those alternatives. And it would help counter the BNP threat if we had the debate the moderate majority of people in this country want to see around those issues, and we did no shy away from it because we were concerned of it leading to the extreme right."

Both Mr Johnson and Alistair Darling rounded on the BNP leader. But Mr Griffin claimed to have had a good response and said his party stood a serious chance of coming third in Thursday's battle, widely viewed as a two-horse race between Labour and the SNP.

Mr Griffin's visit to the constituency took in swift tours of three shopping areas. In Springburn, three young people heckled his entourage with cries of "Nazi scum off our streets" while other shoppers listened to Mr Griffin’s and the party’s candidate, Charlie Baillie.

Alistair Darling, campaigning at a supermarket, said: "People should be under no illusion as to how unpleasant and nasty the BNP is. I think their policies are deeply unpleasant and I hope people will reject them."

Responding to the Chancellor's attack, Mr Griffin said: "I didn't take Britain to war on a lie of weapons of mass destruction, I haven't bankrupted the country, and I haven't wrecked Glasgow. The Labour Party has done all these three things."

Mr Griffin predicted a Labour victory but said the BNP would do well. "The performance which will send a message to the Government to take people's concern about asylum dumping seriously is for us to beat the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, or both," he said. "We are in with a serious chance of third place."

Mr Johnson refuted those claims. He added: "The moderate majority in this country accept the economic case for immigration, accept we should have a civilised system for dealing with asylum seekers.

"They don't want an open door policy - just as well because we don't have an open door policy and never have. They want to see migration controlled, and they want to ensure those people who do stay here pay their taxes, obey the law, and speak English.

"If we can frame a debate around that, and the effects that an influx of immigrants can have on public services in certain areas of the country, which is a perfectly legitimate argument, then we ensure the debate is framed around what the moderate majority wants to see."

The Glasgow North East contest, created by the resignation of former Speaker Michael Martin, also brought Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to the campaign trail on Monday.

He said: "I met a lot of people worried about Labour's recession. People are looking for something different, new ways to create jobs and getting money back into people's pockets.

"Liberal Democrats are offering new ideas, new hope and are the real alternative for local people."

The SNP’s candidate David Kerr, meanwhile, spent Monday accusing Labour of "ripping off" Glasgow by refusing to pay up to £300 million which it said should have accrued to Scotland as a consequence of extra spending on the regeneration of the east end of London.

The Conservatives were also on the campaign trail. A spokesperson for the party said: "Whilst the press have been out talking to the BNP again we have been out speaking to the people of Glasgow North East about Labour's jobs crisis and how to get Britain working again.

"The real challenge is to create jobs and help people acquire the skills needed to find work. Only the Conservatives have the policies to get Glasgow back to work."

The candidates who will contest the Glasgow North East by-election are:

Charlie Baillie, British National Party
Willie Bain, Scottish Labour Party
Eileen Baxendale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Mev Brown, Independent
Colin Campbell, The Individuals Labour and Tory (TILT)
Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
David Doherty, Scottish Green Party
Mikey Hughes
David Kerr, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Louise McDaid, Socialist Labour Party
Kevin McVey, Scottish Socialist Party – Make Greed History
Tommy Sheridan, Solidarity – Scotland’s Socialist Movement
John David Smeaton, Jury Team

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