Mr Griffin, becoming the first far-right politician to appear on the programme, angered audience members by painting Winston Churchill as an 'Islamaphobic' and describing Britain's white population as 'aborigines'.
He said he had been repeatedly misquoted by the British media in the past, insisting: 'I am not a Nazi, I never have been.'
Earlier, up to 1,000 anti-fascist demonstrators took to the streets outside BBC Television Centre in west London to protest at Mr Griffin's appearance on the programme.
About two dozen gained access to a reception area of the building after briefly breaching a security cordon. The Metropolitan police said six arrests had been made and three of its officers injured.
Appearing on the panel alongside Mr Griffin, justice secretary Jack Straw was quick to draw comparisons between the BNP and the Nazis, two parties he said were almost unique in their obsession with race.
'There are Nazis in Britain and they loathe me,' Mr Griffin retorted.
After an audience member accused Mr Griffin of standing for something 'completely disgusting', he claimed he was perennially misquoted.
'Without a shadow of a doubt, I appreciate if you look at some of the things I'm quoted as having said, I'd be a monster. Those things are outrageous lies,' he said to boos from the audience.
But when pressed by host David Dimbleby about whether he was a Holocaust denier, Mr Griffin could only respond: 'I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.'
'Why are you smiling, it's not a particularly amusing issue?' Mr Dimbleby asked.
Conservative peer Baroness Warsi, also on the panel, said the audience was as 'appalled' with the BNP policies as the wider public was.
But she defended the BBC's decision to invite Mr Griffin on to the programme after the corporation received a storm of criticism for doing so.
'I'm glad that this programme has taken place because actually Mr Griffin hasn't been able to put forward his normal PR version of who he is, but he's been exposed for what he really is.'
Mr Griffin, who spent most of his time on the show staring at his the desk and making very little eye contact with the audience, had criticism of his own for the BBC, dubbing it a 'thoroughly unpleasant, ultra-leftist establishment'.
In comments to the Press Association news agency before he was whisked away from Television Centre he said: 'I would say it was a hard fought match and I'm perfectly happy that I have done my best. I can see that millions of people who don't usually watch Question Time will remember what I've said and think that's how they feel and I'm perfectly happy with that.'
He said he had been repeatedly misquoted by the British media in the past, insisting: 'I am not a Nazi, I never have been.'
Earlier, up to 1,000 anti-fascist demonstrators took to the streets outside BBC Television Centre in west London to protest at Mr Griffin's appearance on the programme.
About two dozen gained access to a reception area of the building after briefly breaching a security cordon. The Metropolitan police said six arrests had been made and three of its officers injured.
Appearing on the panel alongside Mr Griffin, justice secretary Jack Straw was quick to draw comparisons between the BNP and the Nazis, two parties he said were almost unique in their obsession with race.
'There are Nazis in Britain and they loathe me,' Mr Griffin retorted.
After an audience member accused Mr Griffin of standing for something 'completely disgusting', he claimed he was perennially misquoted.
'Without a shadow of a doubt, I appreciate if you look at some of the things I'm quoted as having said, I'd be a monster. Those things are outrageous lies,' he said to boos from the audience.
But when pressed by host David Dimbleby about whether he was a Holocaust denier, Mr Griffin could only respond: 'I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.'
'Why are you smiling, it's not a particularly amusing issue?' Mr Dimbleby asked.
Conservative peer Baroness Warsi, also on the panel, said the audience was as 'appalled' with the BNP policies as the wider public was.
But she defended the BBC's decision to invite Mr Griffin on to the programme after the corporation received a storm of criticism for doing so.
'I'm glad that this programme has taken place because actually Mr Griffin hasn't been able to put forward his normal PR version of who he is, but he's been exposed for what he really is.'
Mr Griffin, who spent most of his time on the show staring at his the desk and making very little eye contact with the audience, had criticism of his own for the BBC, dubbing it a 'thoroughly unpleasant, ultra-leftist establishment'.
In comments to the Press Association news agency before he was whisked away from Television Centre he said: 'I would say it was a hard fought match and I'm perfectly happy that I have done my best. I can see that millions of people who don't usually watch Question Time will remember what I've said and think that's how they feel and I'm perfectly happy with that.'
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