SWINDON’S MPs voted in favour of a controversial proposal to allow the creation of three-person babies following a historic debate in Parliament on Tuesday.

Now the UK is set to become the first country in the world to introduce laws which will enable the DNA from two women and one man to be used in IVF treatment to parent a child.

The Bishop of Swindon, Dr Lee Rayfield, also gave the move caustious backing.

He said this procedure was a “massive step’’, and several of his colleagues remained concernd about how it would be regulated once it passes into law.

“If the safeguards are there, the Church of England will be behind this,’’ he said.

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland and North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson voted ‘yes’ – the first time the two Conservative politicians have ever voted the same way in a free vote.

But North Wiltshire MP James Gray voted against. Mr Gray said his main reason for voting against the bill was because despite his sympathy for the families of children with mitochondrial disease, he harboured concerns for the safety and efficacy of the procedure.

He said: “My vote against it was more of a precautionary measure than a conviction one. I was worried about the speed with which the matter has passed through Parliament, with just 90 minutes to debate a decision from which there is no going back.

“There is still disagreement about whether further clinical trials should take place before the procedure is legalised. There is disagreement about whether the regulations are in breach of EU Law, and there are other questions which for me remain unanswered on safety, on clinical trials, and on its legality.’’ In total, 382 MPs voted in favour of the new laws, while 128 voted against. The bill will now be passed to the House of Lords where, if it is passed, the act will become law.

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland, who sat in on most of the debate on the issue, said: “I voted yes after a lot of thought.

“I am always worried about the nightmare vision of the genetically segregated society of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

“But having looked at these techniques and laudable aim of helping to end mitochondrial disease, I think that allowing Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has an excellent regulatory reputation, to proceed over a three year period was reasonable in the circumstances.”

Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon, also agreed that the new method was a step in the right direction with its potential to save lives.

He said: “I voted for it on the grounds that it could prevent children from inheriting faulty mitochondria which can often result in children developing conditions caused by serious mitochondrial disease.

“It’s important to remember that mitochondrial DNA represents 0.054 per cent of the total DNA and crucially is not part of the nucleur chromosial DNA which determines our personal characteristics and traits such as hair. eye colour, and personality.

“So to talk about three-parent children is actually quite a misleading simplification, in the same way that someone who receives a kidney transplant is not a two-person individual.”