Labour has been forced to drop its policy of not sharing a platform with the BNP after the BBC confirmed that it is to invite Nick Griffin to appear on Question Time.

The party’s leader together with another BNP candidate were elected as MEPs at the European elections in June, leading to a rethink at the corporation about how much coverage to give the far-right party.

The BBC’s chief political adviser, Ric Bailey, said that the BNP had now “demonstrated evidence of electoral support at a national level” and this would be reflected in the amount of coverage the party received on BBC programmes such as Question Time.

“The BBC is obliged to treat all political parties registered with the Electoral Commission and operating within the law with due impartiality,” he claimed.

Although Gordon Brown is understood to have been angered by the decision, Downing Street made no comment yesterday. Instead it was left to Labour sources to confirm that the party would field a senior figure to appear alongside Mr Griffin.

Until now Labour has had a policy of refusing to share media platforms with the BNP. The Conservatives have made clear that they will field a senior representative for the edition of Question Time, which is expected to to be filmed this autumn in London.

John Whittingdale, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said that the BBC had taken the correct decision. “It is the right thing to do to use this opportunity to expose the BNP for what it is,” he said.

Martin Salter, a senior Labour MP and leading campaigner against the BNP, described the BBC’s decision as lamentable. But he said that it made little sense for Labour to boycott the programme. “We have to deal with the world as it is,” Mr Salter said.

Labour is formally committed only to holding a review of its position, but a source made clear that it would field a representative. He said: “We are not going to have an empty chair.”

The search is now on for which minister to send to the programme. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, has already signalled that he is unwilling to appear. An ally defended Mr Johnson’s position, saying that his departmental responsibilities made sharing a platform particularly difficult. Shahid Malik, the Dewsbury MP and Communities Minister, also declined to say whether he would accept an invitation to appear alongside Mr Griffin.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is a possible candidate. “Jack’s personal view is that he takes on all comers when doing public meetings, but it’s a decision that has to be taken collectively,” a friend said.

It is understood that Question Time delayed sending an invitation to Mr Griffin because it feared that it would be seen as a reward for the BNP’s showing in the European elections.

The BBC has made clear internally that it wants the edition to be as routine as possible, with no changes to a format in which panellists answer questions on a wide range of topics.

It will almost certainly be filmed in London after managers voiced fears that it could become a focus for unrest if recorded near BNP strongholds in the Midlands and North West. The programme will vet the audience in the normal way.

The issue of the political mainstream’s relations with the BNP first surfaced this summer after Richard Barnbrook, a London Assembly member, was invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party.

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