After reading another thread, something else to add would be the Mk2 tailgate opening mechanism.

Earlier this year, the tailgate switch failed at the same time as the remote key stopped working.

This left no way to get into the boot other than folding the rear seats down from inside the car.

They could have at least added a button on the dash to open the boot from inside the car. A lock on the lid that fits the key as the Mk1 had would be even better. I see some much newer cars of other makes still have an old style key lock on the boot lid.

After disconnecting the battery for five minutes, the remote key problem went away. I changed the switch and all was back to normal.

To return to my original issue after 3 moths the same thing has happened again, unsurprisingly. I've repeated the fix of straightening the bent wire but I think it could be made a more permanent fix if I could find some way of making the exposed inch or so of wire more rigid. My first thought was to tin it with solder but (a) the wire looks like stainless and (b) I'd be worried the plastic connector to the control lever would melt. What I ideally need is something that's thin enough to penetrate the wires by capillary action then cure hard. I wonder if superglue might work. Has anyone any better idea?

It's physically too difficult for me to investigate a missing/broken spring at the other end of the cable and on a car of this age I don't feel it's worth the cost of paying someone else to look for it.

What about a small piece of plastic tubing, internal diameter just a bit less than the cable diameter.  Slit it along its length to fit around the cable and slide into the right place to keep it from kinking?