Diplomatic Correspondent Barnaby Mason: Britain leading sanctions campaign against Burma

Diplomatic relations between the two countries worsened on Tuesday when the Burmese regime told the Foreign Office no minister or officials will receive a visa to enter the country, with immediate effect.

The move is seen as a response to the UK stepping up pressure on the Burmese military authorities to hold talks with ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Derek Fatchett: "The ban will not dissuade us from applying pressure over human rights"

Last month, Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett called for a European Union mission to visit Burma in an attempt to improve human rights in the country.

Commenting on the ban on entry to Burma, Mr Fatchett said: "I regret this move by the Burmese regime.

"It will in no way dissuade us from continuing to work for an improvement in the human rights and the political situation in Burma and bringing pressure on the regime to enter into dialogue with democratic leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi."

The EU has already placed a series of sanctions on the Burmese regime including an arms embargo, putting restrictions on visas and suspending non-humanitarian aid.

The UK also discourages companies from putting new investment into the country.

The Burmese restrictions apply only to the UK. The Foreign Office said it was not aware of similar restrictions on any other EU state.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The visa ban is an acknowledgement that the UK is at the forefront of international action to bring pressure on the Burmese regime to improve the human rights and political situation in Burma."

Mrs Suu Kyi, 50, who is married to an Oxford academic, was leader of the National League for Democracy, which won a landslide victory in general elections in 1990.

She had challenged the military after soldiers killed hundreds of people as they quelled a mass uprising against autocratic rule.

The military junta put Mrs Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, under house arrest allegedly for inciting unrest.