UK under pressure from Europe over deletion of abortion commitments

Exclusive: open letter sent to Liz Truss after removal of commitment to repeal laws threatening women and girls' bodily autonomy from international pact

The UK government is coming under growing pressure from European countries and human rights groups to explain why commitments to abortion and sexual health rights have been removed from an official statement on gender equality.

Norway and Denmark have approached the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to protest against the substantive changes" that were made to a paper that resulted from a UK-hosted conference on freedom of religion and belief, opened by Liz Truss earlier this month, the Guardian has learned.