UK in diplomatic standoff over deletion of abortion rights from gender statement

Exclusive: Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands refuse to sign edited version, drawing up new phrasing including women and girls' sexual and reproductive rights

The UK government is in a diplomatic standoff with three European countries over a statement on gender equality that it changed to remove commitments to women's reproductive and sexual health rights.

Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands are refusing to sign the edited version unless their concerns are taken into consideration", a spokesperson for the Dutch foreign ministry told the Guardian on Thursday.