The European Commission has accused law firms of ‘hiding behind the rules’ to avoid revealing the names of clients for whom they conduct lobbying activities.

The commission has reopened the debate on disclosure of firms’ lobbying clients despite the UK government’s recent decision not to force law firms to reveal clients’ identities.

In its long-delayed response to the Public Administration Select Committee’s ­January report on lobbying, which recommended a statutory register of lobbyists, the government opted for a voluntary register.

This means that law firms’ statutory client confidentiality rules override any voluntary rules, preventing them from disclosing the names of their lobbying clients without client consent.

However, last week the commission criticised law firms for failing to list their lobbying clients on its own voluntary register. It said that law firms, in arguing that they would breach professional conduct rules by revealing clients’ names, are ‘hiding behind’ these rules.

The commission said it was ‘convinced that there is a way to register while respecting the bar rules’ and that it ‘intends to actively pursue its contacts with the bar associations to resolve this issue.’

Eben Black, director and head of media at national firm DLA Piper’s global government relations practice, said that the UK situation is ‘not satisfactory at all’. He said the government has ‘given its blessing to self-regulation’ while excluding law firm public affairs practices that are ‘bound by confidentiality rules which can only be overcome by further legislation’.