More than a fifth of voters would consider voting for the British National Party according to the first opinion poll taken since the controversial appearance of Nick Griffin on Question Time.

Taken in the hours after Mr Griffin's appearance, the YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph found 22% of voters would seriously consider voting BNP in a future local, general or European election.

Two thirds said they would never vote BNP under any circumstances, with the rest unsure.

More than half of those questioned said that they agreed with the BNP, or thought that the party had a point, in wishing to speak up for the interests of the indigenous, white British people which successive governments have done too little to protect.

This included 43% who said that while they shared some of its concerns, they had no sympathy for the party itself.

Twelve per cent said that they completely agreed with the BNP and supported the party's decision to speak up, while 38% said that they disagreed totally with the BNP's political outlook.

The figures are based on a sample of 1,314 electors across Britain interviewed online from October 22-23.

A BBC spokesman said: "We have been very clear in setting out our reasons for having Nick Griffin on Question Time.

"The BBC's obligation is around due impartiality. It is not our job to comment on the ebb and flow of opinion polls."

Mr Griffin's debut appearance on the show sparked uproar, with angry scenes outside BBC TV Centre in west London as nearly 1,000 demonstrators protested at the move.

He said he is to make a formal complaint to the BBC about his treatment on the panel, which he believed had been deliberately "twisted" in order to focus on him and his party's policies, leaving him to face a "lynch mob".

Meanwhile, a former government adviser said Labour had allowed huge increases in immigration over the past decade to socially engineer a more multicultural Britain.

Andrew Neather, a speechwriter who worked in Downing Street for Tony Blair and in the Home Office for Jack Straw and David Blunkett, said Labour's relaxation of controls was a deliberate plan to "open up the UK to mass migration".

Ministers hoped to radically change the country and by doing so "rub the Right's nose in diversity".

But Mr Neather said senior Labour figures were reluctant to discuss the policy, fearing it would alienate its "core working-class vote".

(Sky News)