Two companies yesterday, Vodafone and First Direct, pulled their advertising from Facebook after they were randomly placed on a page giving information about the British National party.

The companies took the step when they were alerted to the fact that their advertisements were included on a rotation system which flashed them up at intervals on the BNP's entry.

The move may affect other advertisers on Facebook by highlighting a current lack of control over where the multimillion page network places their bookings. It is also likely to lead to refinements in the saturation advertising approach of some firms to currently popular websites.