An investigation into international law firms’ dealings in Burma has been called off because of a staff shortage at the organisation planning the probe.

Pressure group Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) said this week that it will not be publishing its annual ‘dirty list’, a list of non-Burmese companies known to be active in the country. It had planned to add the names of law firms to the list for the first time this year.

BCUK claims that, by trading or investing in Burma, companies are directly or indirectly funding the ruling military junta, which has been condemned internationally for human rights abuses and the oppression of the Burmese people.

Late last year, BCUK launched its law firm investigation and said that it was ‘actively investigating’ one major UK law firm it believed was advising clients in Burma. It also presented evidence that 14 of the world’s 100 biggest law firms were active in the region. A spokesman alleged at the time that ‘law firms facilitating trade and investment in Burma are effectively funding Burma’s murderous regime’ (see [2008] Gazette, 11 December, 3).

This week, a BCUK spokeswoman said that staff shortages had led to the investigation being stopped. It is understood that the staff member in charge of the law firm investigation has left BCUK.