This was one of the most PAINFUL CAR CRASH interviews you’ll ever see with Labour foreign minister Stephen Doughty on @GMB about Andy Burnham saying Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum. Susanna Reid grows increasingly frustrated as he refuses to answer her questions, and even Ed Balls eventually tears into him for the “embarrassing waffle”. Doughty is asked again and again about the Prime Minister’s claims but he just keeps ignoring the questions and repeating the same empty line: that Russia has been attempting to interfere with our democratic processes for many years. Susanna tries to force him onto the 2016 vote itself. She asks what Russia actually did, whether it influenced voters, and whether it affected the result. He refuses to give any specifics and just repeats the line. When she asks “Why are you not getting into specifics when the Prime Minister has just got into the specifics?”, he claims Burnham was only speaking more broadly. She keeps pressing. He keeps repeating the line like a robot. She asks if the Prime Minister was wrong. Doughty: “The PM has been very clear about Russian attempts to interfere in our democratic processes.” By now Susanna is openly angry and accuses him of “muddying the waters not clarifying them”. He almost laughably says the same thing again. He isn’t listening. He might as well have come on just to read a statement. Susanna points out that if the result of such a huge decision was influenced, the public deserves answers about what the interference actually was. Doughty claims the PM only said “attempted to interfere”. Susanna cuts in immediately: “He doesn’t say ‘attempted to interfere!’” They play Burnham’s actual comments. Doughty goes straight back to the identical line. Susanna tries one final time. Same response. It is at this point that Ed Balls, clearly fed up, lays into him: “This is EMBARRASSING. It’s really bad for politics when you just blatantly don’t answer the question on something so important and go back to a nonsensical line, which is contradicted by what the Prime Minister just said!” He goes further: “Either answer Susanna’s question or just say I’m not going to. This waffle is embarrassing!” Doughty: “It’s not waffle at all Ed!” Then repeats the line yet again. It is waffle, and I never thought I’d say this but well done Ed Balls for bluntly calling him out. It was embarrassing. Andy Burnham should never have said it. We’ve been through all this. Russia did not in any way, shape or form influence the outcome of that referendum. Dragging this nonsense back up is reckless and a disgrace.