Top British diplomat in cigarette lobbying row -FT

(Adds comment from British High Commission)

April 8 (Reuters) - Britain's high commissioner to Pakistan, Philip Barton, has drawn harsh criticism from medical experts and campaigners for attending a lobbying meeting by British American Tobacco in Pakistan, the Financial Times reported.

Barton broke government rules by participating in the meeting on March 13 at which the London-listed company raised its opposition to the use of pictorial health warnings that will cover about 85 percent of a cigarette packet's surface area, the FT said. (http://on.ft.com/1ahCk3d)

UK officials explained Barton's presence at the meeting, also attended by Pakistan's finance minister Ishaq Dar and health minister Saira Tarar, saying he was there to "help push attempts to combat counterfeit packaging," the daily reported.

"The High Commissioner understood the meeting would cover only issues related to the business environment in Pakistan...At no point did the High Commissioner lobby the Government of Pakistan on the issue of health warnings," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said in an email to Reuters.

The warnings were supposed to come into effect last week but have been delayed until May 31 to allow the industry more time to comply with the legislation, FT reported. (Reporting by Ankush Sharma in Bengaluru and Katharine Houreld in Islamabad; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)