Several high-profile companies have withdrawn their advertising from Facebook after the ads appeared alongside a profile of the British National Party.

First Direct, Vodafone, Virgin Media and the AA have all asked Facebook that their ads be removed.

Vodafone told New Media Age it was pulling its ads because it did not support political parties and wanted to "avoid misunderstandings".

First Direct, the bank, said its advertising decisions had to match its "values and identity", while Virgin Media, the mobile operator, said "we want to advertise on social networks but we have to protect out brand." The AA said it had "strict procedures in place with its agency to ensure it does not advertise on inappropriate sites."

Companies have no control over which profiles their adverts will appear next to when they buy space on Facebook.

Justin Pearse, the editor of New Media Age, which first reported that Vodafone's ads were appearing next to the BNP profile earlier this week, said that some of the UK's "favourite brands" had been "unwittingly associated with a highly controversial political cause."

A spokesman for for the BNP told the BBC that there was no reason for advertisers to avoid the party. "There's nothing wrong with the BNP," he said. "Unfortunately the media have created a bogeyman and really the fault lies with the media, who for some reason have villified the BNP, and it has scared these people off."

This afternoon, the British National Party profile was showing ads for Ultra-lase, a laser treatment for eyes.

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