beebware said:
... "I'm guessing that Mr.+Mrs. license payer have indirectly paid a nice hefty sum to Google and the BBC doesn't want people to know"...

I should think that Google's Search Solutions are cheaper than the hardware, software development costs necessary to regularly index billions of web pages. I also don't think it matters that they advertise the fact. I don't know what brand of toilet paper they use in the Beeb. After all the licence fee pays for that too doesn't it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/bbc