Google Starts Erasing Disputed Search Results

Google is deleting some search results at the request of its users, including articles about a controversial top-flight referee and an airline accused of racism.

It follows a European court ruling that individuals have a "right to be forgotten", so "outdated or irrelevant" material about themselves must be erased from search results.

News organisations are now being notified which of their articles are no longer publicly indexed on Google.co.uk - but remain searchable on Google.com.

They include stories relating to a now-retired Scottish Premier League referee called Dougie McDonald who resigned following controversy over a penalty he awarded in a Celtic game.

Details of a solicitor's 2002 fraud trial have also been scrubbed, along with articles relating to a couple caught having sex on a train and a Muslim man who accused an airline of refusing to employ him because of his face.

BBC economics editor Robert Peston has had a blog post removed in which he wrote about Stan O'Neal, the former boss of the investment bank Merrill Lynch.

The Guardian said a 2011 piece on French office workers making post-it art and a week of stories by media commentator Roy Greenslade are among its stories removed from Google.

Sky News has been notified that a story on Kelly Osbourne being ill has been removed from search results.

Media organisations are not being given any reason for the deletions.

In May, the company introduced a mechanism for people to request the censorship of links to other internet sites which they believe contains outdated or damaging information.

Each request sees Google weigh the privacy rights of an individual against the public's right to know .

The online request form asks for copies of the URL complained of, reasons the search results should be removed, and photo ID to prove an individual's identity.

Those unhappy with the outcome of their request can appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - Britain's data watchdog - or take their case to court.