SNP MP locked himself in the toilet to avoid voting for EU referendum after finding himself in the wrong voting lobby

Angus MacNeil said he was 'distracted' as MPs walked through the voting lobbies to decide whether Britain should have a referendum on the EU

SNP Angus Macneil missed the vote on the EU Referendum bill (Sky News)

An SNP MP locked himself in the toilet to avoid voting in favour of an EU referendum - something he is opposed to - after finding himself in the wrong voting lobby.

Angus MacNeil found himself in the Aye lobby as MPs voted on the EU Referendum Bill, which enshrines into law the national vote on Britain's membership of the 28-state bloc.

He doesn't even have the excuse of being one of the SNP's 50 new MPs - he's been in Parliament since 2005. He claims he was "distracted" as he walked into the wrong side of the House of Commons' voting lobbies - where MPs go to cast their 'Aye' or 'No' vote.

And instead of facing the humiliation of backing the in-out vote on Britain's membership of the EU, Mr MacNeil decided to sit in the gents until the lobbies were unlocked again.

Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop explained how he and his colleagues were worried he was ill, before realising what he was up to and proceeded to mock him on Twitter.

“We were knocking on the door to check if he was OK," Mr Blenkinsop said. "He hung on in there for as long as he could. We eventually took pity on him and let him leave.”

It meant he could not register his opposition to the government's EU referendum, which was overwhelmingly backed by MPs by 544 to 53.