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The Scottish executive has backed down over laws that would have led to people undergoing controversial brain surgery without consent.

Neurosurgery for Mental Disorder (NMD), also called psychosurgery, involves using a laser to destroy brain tissue. It is used for a relatively small number of patients with severe mental illness.

With the implementation of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 on 1 July this year, NMD could have been given to patients without their permission and on the order of the Court of Session.

But after formal protests by the Scottish Association for Mental Health, minister for health Malcolm Chisholm announced that the new regulations were to be amended to exclude NMD "to allow fuller time for parliamentary consideration".