Crisis talks over immigration

Tony Blair has been in crisis talks with Labour strategists amid signs that voters' worries about immigration could derail his election campaign.

The Prime Minister has been told that the public is simply not listening to his message on the issue and that tough Tory policies are striking a chord.

In a further sign of disarray, Mr Blair is said by senior government sources to have been forced to bring back Gordon Brown to help the election campaign because he was in " absolute panic" about the state of Labour's performance.

The Prime Minister's allies are still confident that he will win a historic third Labour term. But the Evening Standard has learned that Mr Blair has been rattled by focus groups showing that immigration is threatening to become Labour's major weakness.

The party's research shows that when the public have government policies explained to them and compared with the Tories' plans, the issue can be neutralised.

"But the problem is people are not listening to what our policies are," one source said. "And when they are not listening, the numbers against us look bad. It's not voters' most important issue but it is such a noisy one that it is in danger of crowding out the others."

The Prime Minister is being advised by some colleagues that a much clearer and tougher line needs to be taken on immigration.

Although Home Secretary Charles Clarke has come up with some tough measures, they have failed to connect with the public, particularly those traditional Labour supporters thinking of either not voting or worse, switching to the Tories.

Part of the problem is that David Blunkett had a much higher-profile on the issue. Labour is also suffering from the simplicity of the Tories' plans to impose an annual limit on immigration and asylum.

Mr Blair made clear that he opposed Michael Howard's quota idea, but some aides believe a refined version should be found. Both parties' internal polls, together with other pollsters, show the Tories have an increasing lead on immigration and, in some cases, crime too.

The first Mori opinion poll after Labour came to office 1997 showed race relations and immigration hardly registered with voters - only four per cent saw them as an important. Public concern about the issue jumped in mid-2001 and throughout the past 12 months one in three voters have consistently cited immigration as one of the most important issues facing Britain.