The US government has come under fire after shutting down a UK firm's websites because they advertised holidays to Cuba.

Steve Marshall, a British travel agent operating in the Canary Islands, had set up the Bonjour Cuba sites offering holidays in Cuba for European travellers.

But the US Treasury Department blacklisted 80 of Marshall's sites in October and ordered his US domain name registrar, eNom, to shut them down and deny him access.

Marshall told The New York Times that he did not understand how "websites owned by a British national operating via a Spanish travel agency can be affected by US law".

"These days not even a judge is required for the US government to censor online materials."

Marshall added that he did not do business with US holidaymakers because they are not permitted to enter Cuba. The sites were for British, French and Italian tourists, he claimed.

A US Treasury Department spokesman told The New York Times that Marshall's business was "a generator of resources that the Cuban regime uses to oppress its people". He added that Marshall could appeal against the decision.

Most of the websites are now up and running again, but with the .net suffix and hosted in Europe.