MP Kieran Mullan has revealed his self-isolation prevented him from taking part in a Parliamentary vote on the Fire Safety Bill.

A Labour amendment to the bill, which is passing through Parliament now, would have seen the inclusion of some of the recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry.

They would have imposed owners of residential buildings to undertake a raft of measures concerning fire safety doors and lift inspections. The opposition party amendment was defeated by 318 votes to 188.

The Crewe and Nantwich MP did not vote and could not arrange a proxy in time. He was due to speak in the debate on Monday, but was told he had been in contact with someone with coronavirus symptoms on Sunday night and says he had to self-isolate for more two days.

He returned to Parliamentary business today (Wednesday) after he learnt the 'contact' had produced a negative coronavirus test.

But the local MP stresses had he been in the Commons on Monday he would have voted against the amendment, which he described as Labour "political-point scoring".

Mr Mullan points to the government's moves to improve fire safety after the disaster at Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people in 2017.

Cladding used at Grenfell has been banned in building construction, while £1.6 billion has been committed to removing suspect cladding in existing buildings.

A fire which gutted the Beechmere complex at Leighton last August has come under scrutiny locally. The MP says the government's ban on timber frames means it would not have been possible to build the elderly person's home today in the manner it was constructed a decade ago.

The MP said: "Action has already been taken and I am also in discussion with Cheshire Fire and Rescue to find out what information we share with residents about the Beechmere fire following their investigation, but potential prosecutions mean this isn't simple.

"I am a member of the All Party Fire Safety Group and have been working with them on seeing what more the government could do, particularly around lower height but high-risk buildings."

Crewe Labour councillors had questioned why the MP was not around to vote when the bill passed through the House of Commons on Monday.

Cllr Sally Handley said: "Residents in Crewe St Barnabas and the wider area will want to know why Kieran did not vote on this and, if he was unable to attend, how he would have voted given it looks like Conservative MPs were whipped to vote against the implementation of the recommendations.

"It is not good enough to focus purely on the issue of timber framing when there are clear issues with fire safety in this country and that is precisely what the Grenfell Inquiry is charged with looking at."

Lynda Noden, from the local Sprinklers in Specialised Housing and Registered Care Accomodation NOW group, set up after the Beechmere fire, said: "It's really concerning that MPs have voted down an amendment that would have almost certainly improved fire safety in the UK.

"We need to learn the lessons from these incidents if we are to prevent them happening again."

The MP explained further how he has been forced to take Covid precautions.

"I was due to not only vote, but speak in the debate on Monday. Unfortunately, very late on Sunday, I was told someone I was in contact with had developed coronavirus symptoms so I had to self-isolate," he said.

"I applied for a proxy vote but the earliest I could get one for was Tuesday. But I want to be clear, had I had a vote I would have voted against yet another round of political point scoring from a Labour Party that knows it won't win these votes and so just uses them to create headlines by deliberately misrepresenting what they mean."