British National Party leader Nick Griffin may be asked to appear on Question Time, the BBC said today.

A spokesman for the broadcaster said it was bound by rules to treat all political parties with "due impartiality".

No representatives of the far-right BNP - which was elected to the European Parliament in June - have appeared on the political debate show before.

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The BBC said it was talking to other parties about the move, some of whom had previously refused to share a platform with the BNP because of its policies on race.

Other smaller parties elected to the European Parliament, such as the Green Party and Ukip, have been represented on Question Time.

A spokesman for the broadcaster said: "The BBC is obliged to treat all political parties registered with the Electoral Commission and operating within the law with due impartiality."

"Due impartiality is achieved both by ensuring appropriate scrutiny for each party and by the appearances of a range of politicians across a series of programmes.

"Our audiences - and the electorate - will make up their own minds about the different policies offered by elected politicians."