London (CNSNews.com) - British lawmakers have slammed the American-based Hilton hotel group for refusing to do business with the Cuban government because of the U.S. embargo against the communist island nation, and some are calling for a boycott.

Early last month, a hotel in Oslo, Norway that is owned by the American company turned away a Cuban delegation attending a trade fair after they had already made reservations.

Amid an outcry from Norwegian trade unions, a Hilton official said the company couldn't accommodate the visitors because of longstanding legislation barring American companies from doing business with Cuba.

The group has since confirmed that its hotels around the world have the same policy.

Hilton Hotels Corporation spokeswoman Kathy Shepard said Thursday the hotel chain was "between a rock and a hard place" but that it had to follow American law.

Speaking from Los Angeles, she confirmed reports that Hilton or any of its worldwide subsidies were not taking reservations from the Cuban government.

"When you go around the world and you have properties in 80 different countries, you still have to comply with the law of the land," she said.

In Britain, as news of the policy spread, some lawmakers this week condemned it as violating British anti-discrimination laws and breaching the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

At least 50 members of parliament have signed up to an effort to get the House of Commons to debate the matter.

A committee of Scottish lawmakers cancelled a conference booking they had with a Hilton hotel in Dundee, and at least two major trade unions said they would be boycotting the chain in the future.

After being questioned by angry lawmakers, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he would "look into" the matter but stopped short of promising to speak with President Bush about it.

Ian Gibson, a Labor Party lawmaker who is leading the calls against Hilton, told Cybercast News Service that it looked like Washington was becoming increasingly intent on enforcing the embargo against Cuba.

Gibson, who heads an all-party parliamentary group on Cuba, said he had spoken with the Cuban government and that it was looking for a quiet resolution to the dispute.

"We've spoken to the Cuban ambassador in Britain, and he doesn't want a fully fledged battle," he said. "He just wants Hilton to see sense."

Both the American Embassy and the American State Department refused to comment on the controversy, while calls to the Cuban Embassy in London went unreturned.

The American embargo against Cuba began in early 1962, shortly after dictator Fidel Castro took power. It continues to this day.

The embargo prohibits American businesses from trading with Cuban interests and has been strengthened in the last decade to include the entire world, a move which has sparked protest in Europe and elsewhere.

In 2006, the Swiss banking giant UBS agreed to pay a $100 million fine to the Federal Reserve for transferring U.S. currency to Cuba, as well as to Libya and Iran.

European travel firms owned by American interests have also been warned not to take bookings for Cuba.

A year ago, the U.S.-owned Maria Isabel Sheraton hotel in Mexico expelled another Cuban trade delegation in order to comply with the embargo.

The hotel was reportedly then fined $15,000 by the Mexican government for discriminating against the Cubans.

Stephen Wilkinson, an academic at the International Institute for the Study of Cuba in London, said it appeared the U.S. was turning up the pressure on other countries to enforce the embargo against Cuba - particularly those in the former Soviet bloc.

Though Hilton has said that it was acting independently to come into line with American law, Wilkinson speculated that they might have been urged to do so by the U.S. government.

"I don't think major corporations are in the habit of turning away business unless they've been told not to [accept it]," he said.

Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.