London  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he was "saddened and angry" at the conviction of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for a violation of the house arrest imposed on her by the country's military junta.

Brown said he was "saddened and angry" at the conviction following a "sham trial."

In a strongly worded statement, he said the sentence was proof that the ruling military junta was "determined to act with total disregard for accepted standards of the rule of law."

The elections, planned in Myanmar for 2010, would have "no credibility or legitimacy" without the participation of Suu Kyi, described by Brown as a "beacon of hope."

Brown said he would write Tuesday to all members of the UN security council to impose a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime.

Ivan Lewis, a Foreign Office minister for the region, said Britain would urge further European Union (EU) sanctions against Myanmar and press states of the ASEAN community of south-east Asian nations to exert "maximum pressure" on the regime in Yangoon.

Britain would continue to "lead the world" in efforts to achieve freedom for the 64-year-old democracy campaigner. (dpa)