In a significant policy shift, the Law Society has issued an apology and withdrawn controversial guidance for solicitors on how to draft ‘Sharia-compliant wills’ that would deny women an equal share of inheritance and exclude non-Muslims entirely. The advice, released in March this year, was intended to ‘assist solicitors who have been instructed to prepare a valid will which follows Sharia succession rules’. But today Andrew Caplen, the President of the Law Society, has apologised and announced the withdrawal of the guidelines: ‘Our practice note was intended to support members to better serve their clients as far as is allowed by the law of England and Wales,’ he said. ‘We reviewed the note in the light of criticism. We have withdrawn the note and we are sorry.’ The guidelines attracted severe criticism when they were published.