Britain's Tory leader, Mr William Hague, was nearly killed in a collision between two helicopters earlier this week while campaigning for today's general election, a party spokesman said.
Only the quick reflexes of the pilot of Mr Hague's Sikorsky S-76 helicopter prevented a mid-air collision on Tuesday with another helicopter - believed to be a military training aircraft - the spokesman said, confirming a newspaper report.
"They were within seconds of colliding," an unidentified source had told the Sunnewspaper.
Mr Hague, voting in his northern English constituency of Richmond, played down the incident.
"No, the pilot was in full control of the plane," he told reporters when asked whether he was worried by the near miss.
Mr Hague (40) was accompanied by wife Ffion, four senior aides and a Special Branch police protection officer when he made the helicopter flight to a rally in the English Midlands.