Newsnight, followed by Weather

The first substantive discussion concerned Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, and Russian interference in UK elections. It noted that he had said on The Rest Is Politics podcast that he was given a clear answer that there was interference in the 2016 referendum, while in the Commons he said Russian actors had sought to interfere in the 2019 general election and that it was inconceivable this was the first time. Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said there was measurable evidence of attempts by Russia to interfere in the Brexit referendum, citing City University research identifying 13,500 accounts that posted 65,000 tweets around the referendum, and said measuring any effect was difficult. Sergei Markov, described as a close ally and former spokesperson for President Putin, called the claim a crazy lie, said Russia had no friendly political forces in Britain and no reason to support anyone, and disputed that Putin did not respect sovereignty, saying Ukraine's independence had been stolen after a 2014 coup.

The broadcast also covered Mr Burnham's push for closer EU ties. He said it would be a dereliction of duty not to pursue closer ties and that sticking with the status quo was not good enough, and he planned to seek post-Brexit deals at a summit next month covering areas such as youth mobility, food and energy. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said he was unpicking the deal the country signed with the EU a decade after the referendum. Emily Thornberry said she thought rejoining the EU should be in the Labour manifesto and that free movement, Schengen and the euro would need to be discussed, while Labour MP Jonathan Hinder opposed reopening the debate, saying rejoining would require a referendum and the manifesto red lines on free movement and the customs union stood for this Parliament. Fraser Nelson cited YouGov polling suggesting 57% thought leaving the EU was wrong and 55% supported rejoining, but said such figures shift during campaigns and that Mr Burnham might be trying to win back Liberal Democrat and Green voters. The panel also noted that the EU had changed, citing Marine Le Pen, the AfD and Meloni.

The final substantive discussion concerned a Times welfare inquiry. The paper reported that disability benefits for 120,000 teenagers cost the taxpayer £1 billion a year. Fraser Nelson said the money was being given in cash to teenagers for conditions such as ADHD, anxiety and depression, while children who sought help from the NHS faced long waits, with almost half a million children waiting ten months for their first therapy appointment. He said the system was geared towards giving cash in lieu of care, that the money could instead provide therapy, and pointed to the Milburn, Mayfield and Timbs reviews as areas for potential cross-party consensus on welfare reform.