The British government have withdrawn controversial abortion regulations for Northern Ireland before they could be put to the vote in Parliament this week.

It means that the regulations put forward by secretary of state Brandon Lewis at the end of March will not now apply.

He had been required to submit the regulations for Parliament’s approval but in the face of mounting opposition the government said the votes would now not go ahead.

The Northern Ireland Office is expected to submit redrafted regulations to Parliament in the near future.

Opponents had criticised the regulations for going further than the abortion laws in Britain and the Republic, with much wider provision than the law required.

It is understood that the strength of the challenges faced by the proposed legislation, in particular at a Lords select committee, led the government to pull the regulations.

The Catholic bishops had called the regulations “extreme” and accused the Westminster government of removing “protections to the life of the unborn child with chilling alacrity”.