Andy Burnham, Chief Secretary to the Treasury under Alistair Darling, eventually – and very quietly – says the magic word:

AB: “The deficit was too high when the crash came. I know that because I was Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2007…”

VD: “You were still borrowing when the economy was growing. Why?!”

AB: “If you’re honest about your mistakes, then I think people begin to listen to you…”

VD: “Do you want to apologise for that then? Do you want to apologise?”

AB: “Well, we were running a strong economy from 1997-2007… But the deficit was too high in 2007.”

Audience member: “Just say sorry!”

AB: “Sorry, it was a mistake, we shouldn’t have allowed the deficit to get that high.”

Alas they didn’t ask him about Mid Staffs…