Watch Mr Howard

Mr Howard was speaking in Cardiff after being accused during BBC Question Time of treating asylum seekers like "dirt".

He promised to call in business leaders soon after a election victory to help decide new quotas on work migrants.

As Labour launched a new assault on his economic plans, Mr Howard said he was "growingly confident" about the poll.

He said it was time to focus on the "wider choices" in the campaign.

He would set out his vision for Britain in a speech on Saturday and set out a timetable on Monday so voters could "mark on a calendar" when action would be taken.

'No hanging around'

Mr Howard has highlighted one of the five Conservative priorities each day this week and Friday was the turn of immigration.

The Tories want annual quotas, set by Parliament, for asylum and work migration.

They plan to have all asylum claims processed offshore - either in special centres or by taking refugees from United Nations camps.

Michael Howard's prepared to explain fully to the public why he believes it and be judged on that Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind on the Tory leader's Iraq policy

Mr Howard said: "We will create a fairer, more humane asylum system by breaking the link between coming to Britain and claiming asylum - a link which keeps the inhumane trade in people smuggling alive."

As prime minister, he would not "hang around", he promised.

He would call in business leaders to tell them to start immediately on assessing what overseas workers they needed.

The head of the immigration service would be told to start work on a points system for economic migrants.

And government officials on borders would know what they needed to do to introduce 24 hour surveillance at our ports, he said.

'No hate'

His speech comes after his asylum policies came under fire from a member of the Question Time audience who said he was an asylum seeker.

The man claimed Mr Howard "hated" asylum seekers and was using "insane" language.

Mr Howard said "I completely disagree with you" and added that his immigration policy was about "doing what was right for Britain".

The programme also saw Mr Howard say he would have gone to war in Iraq even if had known Saddam Hussein had possessed no weapons of mass destruction.

He called the policy "regime change plus", justified by the threat the then Iraqi leader posed to peace in the Middle East and beyond, as well as his flouting of UN resolutions.

Former Conservative Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who is standing as a Tory candidate, defended Mr Howard's position on the war.

He told BBC News he had a different view from Mr Howard on the war.

"The fact is, I pay tribute to the fact, that when he has a controversial opinion, he's prepared to explain fully to the public why he believes it and be judged on that."

Tony Blair on Friday launched a fresh attack on the Conservative economic policies, saying the party was "running away" from the issue.