Home Secretary Alan Johnson has called for a debate on immigration pitched at Britain's "moderate majority" as he campaigned in Glasgow North East.

Mr Johnson’s comments were on the same day that BNP leader Nick Griffin today also paid a visit to the constituency.

The minister said debate would counter the BNP threat and should not be "shied away from", said the Home Secretary.

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," said

"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 Chancellor Alistair Darling, also campaigning in the constituency, 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 one, Springburn, three young people heckled his entourage with cries of "Nazi scum off our streets".

But otherwise shoppers gave him a polite hearing, and in Duke Street some cars and vans hooted their horns in support.

Alistair Darling, campaigning at a supermarket earlier, 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."

And Alan Johnson said: "The people of Glasgow will send them away with a flea in their ear."

But 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 said he had a better response today in Glasgow than he had in many parts of England.

He predicted a Labour victory - "everybody knows that" - 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."

But Mr Johnson said he doubted that the BNP would make any inroads in Scotland. He said: "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."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who also visited the constituency, 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.

The SNP accused 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 Nationalists said support for their view had come from a House of Lords committee which studied the Barnett formula, which sets Scotland's share of public spending.

SNP candidate David Kerr said: "Glasgow has been deprived of £300 million by the London Labour Government who refuse to pay up the money this city is due.”