A British paraglider has died in a Spanish accident, and the Foreign Office is already issuing advisories. Classic Whitehall overcorrection. The victim, a 52-year-old former Labour councillor from Hove, reportedly lost control near Alicante on Monday. His body was recovered yesterday. Now the FCO website screams 'increased risk' for adventure sports in Spain.
The memo landed in my inbox this morning. It's a standard 'take responsibility for your own safety' boilerplate. But the timing is telling. The Sunday Times has been baying for blood after a string of British tourist deaths. The Foreign Office is turtling.
Here's the inside game. The minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, is vulnerable. She's been dodging questions about consular support cuts. This death gives her cover to look proactive without spending a penny. The advisory will be gone within a fortnight. I'm told Number 10 is furious about the distraction. They've got a Rwanda vote to whip.
The paragliding community is incandescent. 'This is pure panic,' a British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association source told me. 'We have safety procedures. These blanket warnings are a cop-out.' The source has a point. The last UK paragliding death was in 2019. This isn't a trend.
But that's not how Whitehall works. An incident. A directive. A headline. Then the circus moves on.
The real story is the backbench unease. Thirty Tory MPs are agitating for a debate on Foreign Office competence. They want to know why consular staff in Benidorm were cut by 15% last year. The whips are sweating. This could get messy.
Meanwhile, the dead man's family just want answers. He was an experienced pilot. Equipment failure? A gust? The Spanish authorities haven't said. The Foreign Office won't comment on 'ongoing investigations'. Standard fudge.
I've been in this game long enough to spot the patterns. The travel advisory is a fig leaf. A way for ministers to say 'we warned them' if another death happens. It's cynical. But that's the game.
The paraglider's name hasn't been released. Expect a rush to publish by the tabloids tomorrow. The family will be hounded. Then a charity set up. Then silence. Until the next tourist dies.
And the Foreign Office will issue another advisory. Rinse. Repeat.
This is Eleanor Rigby. Back to the lobby.
