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I'd previously removed the lock barrel from the outside and satisfied myself that the key was operating the lock barrel, so I was pretty sure the problem was inside the door. So, out with the Haynes manual and inside the door we go. No pics, I'm afraid, as I was on tight timing and more concerned with fixing the car than helping you lot out.
Removing the door trim was simple enough, although the Haynes didn't quite match our car. The lower half of the "armrest" pulls out, just held with clips; and there are five Torx screws in the door shut to undo, not four. Removing the panel with window mechanism and latch assembly attached was awkward. Removing the glass was surprisingly easy: that'll be my "un
The eventual problem, as suspected, was that the metal rod that joins the lock barrel to the latch had become detached. At the end, it's a hook shape retained in its hole by a thin plastic guard which had cracked, letting the rod fall out. A bit of Araldite repaired and strengthed that plastic guard, then re-assembly was fairly straightforward.
Unless there's some other element retaining the rod that was missing on ours, I'd imagine quite a few cars have had this problem, particularly the ones without remote locking. That piece of plastic was very flimsy and gets pushed about during an unlock operation, and we don't use the manual lock very often at all.
The keys were under a big pile of paper on the record deck...
