Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the shadow community cohesion minister, made the potentially incendiary comments in an interview with the Independent on Sunday.

The Muslim peer - a close ally of Tory leader David Cameron - argued that immigration had been "out of control" and was making people feel "uneasy".

Lady Warsi criticised the BNP's race agenda, but said the party's supporters had valid concerns about immigration.

"There are a lot of people out there who are voting for the BNP and it's those people that we mustn't just write off and say 'well, we won't engage with them'.

"They have some very legitimate views - people who say, we are concerned about crime and justice in our communities, we are concerned about immigration in our communities."

The remarks were condemned by anti-racist group Operation Black Vote - for whom Lady Warsi used to work.

Spokesman Simon Woolley told the Independent on Sunday: "Pandering to the racist views peddled by the BNP and bought by the BNP voters is wrong.

"The fact of the matter is that this country would collapse if it wasn't for migrant workers."

The remarks may be seen as another sign that the Conservatives are moving to the right as David Cameron seeks to appease traditionalists disaffected with his modernising approach.