European Elections: Labour hits out at 'xenophobic' Major: Immigration: Bone of contention used by some parties to stir up passions in the Union-wide forthcoming election

THE fight over the European elections became dirty yesterday as John Major was accused by Labour and the Liberal Democrats of using xenophobia and immigration to frighten people into voting Conservative.

As the gloves came off, Jack Cunningham, the shadow foreign secretary, said the Tories lied about Labour at the last general election, and would not be allowed to get away with it this time.

The European elections had now become a referendum 'on the honesty and integrity of the Prime Minister', Mr Cunningham said.

Pro-European Tory MPs privately were dismayed by the 'Euro-sceptic' tone of Mr Major's speech in Bristol on Monday night, when he warned that the removal of Britain's veto would 'dilute our national identity'.

In a warning shot, Hugh Dykes, chairman of the European Movement, said: 'Conservative Party spokesmen must be very careful not to be too chauvinistic, narrow- minded or out-of-date on Europe. This was the fatal mistake that Thatcher made. It spelled her own downfall eventually.'

Kenneth Clarke, a committed European, denied being ashamed of the European campaign being run by the Tory Party. 'We are fighting a better campaign than the last European elections because we are putting forward a positive agenda,' he said.

But leading Euro-sceptic Tory MPs said they were pleased with the campaign, which would strike a chord with the public. Other pro- European Tory MPs privately said that they did not like the tone of the campaign, but said they would not criticise it until after the elections were over on 9 June.

The Tory campaign, targeting Labour and Liberal Democrats for allegedly surrendering the veto, was seen as an attempt to maximise Tory votes in a low turn-out.

'It shows they have given up trying to win back the wavering Tory voters. They have clearly calculated that there is going to be low turn-out and if they can get out the angry brigade on 9 June they can hold on,' said a leading Liberal Democrat campaigner.

One Tory MP campaigning in a key Tory marginal Euro-constituency confirmed his party hoped for a low turn-out, to win the seat.

The opening of the Tory campaign suggests Conservative campaigners at Central Office have changed their strategy. They had promised a positive campaign, and to avoid the mistakes of the 1989 Thatcher campaign for the European elections, which was criticised for being too negative.

The first two days of the Tory campaign have been dominated by Tory promises to keep the veto, and to stop further transfers of power to Brussels.

Mr Major's speech went further, warning of the threat to the pound and the nation's heritage posed by greater European integration. He was attacked yesterday by Mr Cunningham for adopting a 'little Englander' approach.

The European Migrants Forum said last night it was protesting to Sir Norman Fowler, chairman of the party, over the Tory strategy of raising the immigration issue. Tara Mukherjee, United Kingdom forum president, said: 'Immigration is being used as a political football by the Conservatives.'

Sir Norman defended the Prime Minister for saying that Britain was the 'best country' in the world. 'What the Prime Minister was saying was there was no other country he would ever remotely prefer to live in.'

The cross-fire intensified after the Conservative Party chairman published leaked extracts from drafts of Labour's European manifesto. Sir Norman said Labour had omitted any reference to the veto in its March draft, but had inserted a commitment not to drop the veto in its April draft, following the row over majority voting.

Both sides became embroiled in a row over whether they were committed to the policies of their right- and left-wing groupings in the European Parliament.

The Tories said they were not signed up to the federalist European People's Party manifesto, but Labour had signed the manifesto of the Euro-Socialist group, who supported abolition of the veto.

'Open abandonment or covert erosion - that is the Lib-Lab threat. Only the Conservatives will defend Britain's veto,' Sir Norman said. Labour hit back, publishing a list of 26 alleged Tory lies about Labour's manifesto. 'The Tories are reverting to their old tricks on immigration. They are being deliberately socially divisive in misleading the public about Labour's policies,' it said.

Paddy Ashdown, the Liberal Democrat leader, told a rally in Taunton that Lady Thatcher had abandoned the veto in favour of qualified majority-voting, to create the single market. The veto was a recipe for 'European sclerosis,' he said.