Nick Griffin was assailed by barbs and brickbats from all sides last night as he took his place on the national stage.

The British National Party leader was subjected to a hostile hour-long grilling as the BBC changed its Question Time format for his debate debut.

Amid continued criticism that the BBC was wrong to offer Mr Griffin a platform, all audience questions called by the host, David Dimbleby — on Churchill, Islam, immigration, homosexuality and Mr Griffin’s presence — touched on BNP politics.

Mr Griffin was jeered and mocked by the audience as he described white people as Britain’s aborigines, reiterated his claim that Churchill would have been a BNP member and denied he was racist. He was hauled up by Mr Dimbleby for smirking when he was asked about his previous denials of the Holocaust. He said that he had not had a conviction for Holocaust denial.

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The broadcast sparked protests at BBC headquarters in London. Mr Griffin was let in by a rear entrance to avoid hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators. Three police officers were injured and six people arrested after protesters broke through police lines.

The BNP leader, seeking legitimacy on a national stage, was challenged repeatedly during the programme. His comment that a Ku Klux Klan leader was “almost totally non-violent” drew titters from the audience. When he said that he found public displays of homosexuality repulsive, an audience member said that the “feelings are mutual”. Another audience member suggested Mr Griffin should be consigned to the South Pole where “the colourless landscape will suit you”.

The corporation was delighted with the outcome, claiming that it justified the decision to include Mr Griffin. Mark Byford, the deputy director-general, said: “Members of the audience asked the kind of tough questions that mark Question Time out as the premier television programme where the public put the panellists on the spot.”

But Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, again condemned the BBC. “This could end up blighting the lives of many decent people in Britain just because they are not white. The BBC should be ashamed of single-handedly doing a racist, fascist party the biggest favour in its grubby history,” he said.

Comments on internet forums from television viewers accused the BBC of getting it wrong by allowing everyone to gang up on Mr Griffin and make him look like a victim.

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