Boris Johnson accused Andy Burnham of lying about Russia’s possible interference in Brexit, and people’s irony meters didn’t just break – they exploded

Andy Burnham’s appearance on the Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart podcast, The Rest is Politics, has put the cat amongst the comrades.

The PM confirmed that the UK is aware of Russian attempts to interfere in the UK democratic process – including in the Brexit referendum.

Andy Burnham becomes first PM to confirm Russian interference in Brexit referendum

@campbellclaret and @RoryStewartUK’s exclusive interview with @andyburnham on tomorrow’s episode of Leading is out in full at midnight. https://t.co/xYk6NcPJab

— The Rest Is Politics (@RestIsPolitics) October 11, 2026

The issue has long been the subject of speculation. According to a report published in 2020, the UK Government at that time, under Boris Johnson, and others going back several years, had ‘taken their eye off the ball’.

Downing Street’s brain-busting reason for failing to investigate Russian attempts to influence the referendum was that they hadn’t seen any evidence of it. The committee that completed the report countered that they hadn’t seen any evidence because they hadn’t bothered to look for it – and had actively avoided doing so.

Nothing to see here. Oh, look – a squirrel!

Enter stage left – well, probably more on the right – Boris Johnson’s indignant response to Andy Burnham.

This is just not true. As soon as I became foreign secretary I asked the security services the same question and they replied that there was no evidence of any successful interference in the 2016 referendum, by Russia or any other power.

Either the security services have changed their view – which would be very odd – or Burnham is lying about what he has been told. After all Starmer was in power for two years and had access to exactly the same information.

https://t.co/rUn9YSZ4wy

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 12, 2026

Wait! Would that be the Boris Johnson who resigned when the Parliamentary Standards Committee ruled that he had lied to Parliament on so many occasions that they would recommend a 90-day suspension? That Boris Johnson?

Or perhaps it’s the Boris Johnson who ditched his aides to go to a party in Italy, just after a Nato meeting about security strategy towards Russia, where he met with former KGB officer Alexander Lebedev. That Boris Johnson?

Irony meters didn’t just break – they shattered.