Google has defended the integrity of its news service after it emerged that reports filed by the far-right British National Party (BNP) are being listed as sources on its website.

In the week that the leader of the BNP, Nick Griffin, appears in court on charges of inciting racial hatred, the BNP's news reports are being listed on Google News alongside those from organisations such as the BBC and Reuters.

One article, written by the BNP's southeast England "correspondent" about the trial of six men accused of murdering 16-year-old Mary-Ann Leneghan, is the first news source listed when searching under the deceased girl's name.

The article, which accused the BBC of double standards in not reporting the colour of the defendants in the case, is listed ahead of reports from the BBC, Reuters, Channel 4, the Times and the Telegraph.

Its prime position will mean that many Google users will be directed to the BNP's website by virtue of having clicked on the first headline that is listed.

Other articles listed on the search engine giving the BNP's take on recent news - written by the far-right party "correspondents" - include a man arrested for making homophobic remarks.

A spokeswoman for Google said that its job was not to act as censor and that its automated search services could not screen results.

However, it said that if any illegal content was linked to in its index, the web pages would be removed.