Peter Hain yesterday criticised "isolationist" Muslims who fail to integrate into British society and called for more debate on immigration issues.

The outspoken minister for Europe told the BBC that although Muslim immigrants were welcome in the UK and enriched British culture "there is a tendency among a minority to isolate themselves and that leaves them vulnerable either to exploitation by Osama Bin Laden-type extremists and fanatics on the one hand or targeting by racists and nazis on the other."

The leader of the Muslim parliament in Britain, Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, called on Hain to withdraw his comments.

In a Guardian interview Hain calls on the EU to adopt a Europe-wide asylum strategy, describing the some Mediterranean countries as a "soft touch".

It comes as home secretary David Blunkett is to launch two short-term schemes allowing economic migrants from unskilled and semi-skilled areas of the economy to come to Britain to fill Labour shortages.

Applicants would not be able to settle in the UK or bring family.