In a U-turn on proposed policy, Britain’s pharmacy regulator has declared that Catholic pharmacists should not be forced to dispense lethal drugs against their consciences.

The General Pharmaceutical Council, the regulatory body that sets professional standards for the industry, has backed away from proposals to abolish the right of people with religious convictions to conscientiously object to dispensing the morning-after pill, contraceptives or hormone-blocking drugs used by transsexual patients.