Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Robinson said he and his fellow DUP MPs were in parliament for the vote.
But he said: "We determined that given the last number of months, it would have been inappropriate for us because anything we said could have been misconstrued in an unhelpful way or an erroneous way".
He added: "We didn't participate in it. Anything we said in light of recent events could have been misconstrued so we weren't going to participate in last night's debate, it was a matter for parliament as a whole and parliament has determined the outcome."
MPs later voted in favour of a proposal from Liberal Democrat Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) to revert to the threshold being an arrest, by a majority of 170 to 169, majority one.
The House of Commons Commission initially proposed that a risk assessment would take place on whether an MP should be prevented from attending the parliamentary estate if they were arrested on suspicion of committing a violent or sexual offence.
MPs have previously only been prevented from attending the parliamentary estate by voluntary arrangements with their own party whips under such circumstances.
In April, former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson made his first appearance in court in Newry after he and his wife Eleanor were charged in connection with historical sex offences.
The Lagan Valley MP (61) faces 11 charges: one count of rape, one count of gross indecency and nine counts of indecent assault.
The charges relate to two complainants and are alleged to have occurred between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 2006.
His wife, co-accused Lady Eleanor Donaldson (58), also appeared in court charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault, as well as two counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16.
The aiding and abetting charges relate to alleged incidents between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1991, as well as a specific count of the charge on January 1, 1985.
One cruelty charge is alleged to have occurred between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1991, while the other alleged offence occurred between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2004.
Donaldson wrote to the DUP saying he would be strenuously contesting the charges. He remains as Lagan Valley MP, a seat he has held since 1997.
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2024-05-14 08:48:19Z
CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5iZWxmYXN0dGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvcG9saXRpY3MvZ2F2aW4tcm9iaW5zb24tZHVwLXZvdGUtb24tbXAtc2V4LW9mZmVuY2VzLWJhbi13b3VsZC1oYXZlLWJlZW4tbWlzY29uc3RydWVkL2E3NDY4MTY0MDkuaHRtbNIBAA
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