Norwich South MP Clive Lewis has admitted it 'hurt' him to abstain on the Parliamentary vote over Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system, given his long-standing opposition to the weapons system.

Mr Lewis said the fact he is now Labour's shadow defence secretary, coupled with his belief that Monday night's Commons debate was merely a 'political game' to unite the Conservatives and sow unrest in his own party, meant he had to abstain.

The government motion, which also included backing the plan to replace the existing submarine fleet carrying the missiles with four new Successor submarines, was supported by 472 votes to 117,

The region's Conservative MPs Peter Aldous (Waveney), Richard Bacon (South Norfolk), Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire), Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk), Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal), George Freeman (Mid-Norfolk), Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth), Keith Simpson (Broadland), Chloe Smith (Norwich North) and Elizabeth Truss (South West Norfolk) all voted for, while North Norfolk Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb voted against.

Mr Lewis said of his abstention: 'My views on Trident have been widely reported - that I do not believe the case has been made and I am opposed to Trident's renewal.

'But there were two things which made me do what I had to do.

'I am now shadow defence secretary and I am leading a review into Labour's defence policy. Because of that, and my need to be professional and objective, I decided to abstain. Our policy on defence is a key issue for our party and making sure it is right is important.

'And the second factor is that this wasn't a legislative vote. It was a vote in principle and a motion designed to unite the Tories and split Labour and I wasn't going to play that Tory game. This vote changed absolutely nothing and did nothing.

'If I was voting off my own back, as an MP, I would have voted against, but I hope my constituents will understand that sometimes politics is about acting like a grown-up.

'I have got to show my party that I am looking at this review in an objective way and looking at all the options. It did hurt me not to vote no, but this isn't about who likes me on Twitter, it's about the defence of the country.'