Clues

1-across – Scratch the match : LUCIFER

5-across – Shock features about dress : APPAREL

9-across – To reach this steep : SATURATIONPOINT

10-across – Yellow’s right in the firing line : OCHRE

11-across – Prove bad debtor’s beat : OVERPOWER

12-across – Put tight cover on ex-PM in quarters : ENSHEATHE

14-across – True alloy’s mixed : LOYAL

15-across – Boat-building, say? : CRAFT

16-across – Riot at charges to get in? : GATECRASH

18-across – A circular unit’s housing 100 idyllic peasants : ARCADIANS

21-across – Popular urban retreat – fields in the country : RURAL

22-across – What O is, if M is head of MI5? : SECONDINCOMMAND

23-across – Cosh used to provide protection : SANDBAG

24-across – Opening base sounds truly brilliant : SILVERY

1-down – Supple plant written up in fiction : LISSOME

2-down – Beasts trap Charlie Chan : CATCHASCATCHCAN

3-down – Stuffing’s knocked out of meercat : FORCEMEAT

4-down – Say, one to five in operation : RATIO

5-down – A sound declaration of intended reconciliation : ATONEMENT

6-down – Cub takes work that arises by itself : POPUP

7-down – Subject of engineer’s line drawing? : RAILWAYCARRIAGE

8-down – Coming after a little opening to the side : LATERAL

13-down – Material’s insulation value to grill : TOGRATING

14-down – ‘E’s out to leach rye meal of drops : LACHRYMAL

15-down – Short description of Princess Anne’s body? : CHASSIS

17-down – Billieês recess : HOLIDAY

19-down – 1Bow welcoming Orient’s rising star : DENEB

20-down – Swipes hose : SOCKS

9-across – Girl embracing friend and mum in holiday location : LASPALMAS

10-across – Hesitation about wanting rogue to come back : RECUR

11-across – Short-tempered with prices falling? : BEARISH

12-across – Workers, perhaps, associated with religious organisations : INSECTS

13-across – Arab who may be taken aback by frost : EMIR

14-across – A brawl without anyone facing charges? : FREEFORALL

16-across – Something that may have damaged tree endlessly, small thing : TERMITE

17-across – Harmful female restricted by man in charge : MALEFIC

19-across – Deeply religious friend agog after conversion : GODFEARING

22-across – Valley – and not in England somehow! : GLEN

24-across – What may give campers a night out with the stars? : BIVOUAC

25-across – We tots, moving to piano, dance : TWOSTEP

26-across – Foreign city that can’t quite offer enough for sect member : ESSEN

27-across – Rejection of motorway has male entering individual tree : PERSIMMON

1-down – Feminist, perhaps, in newspaper, one to expose publicly as silly gossip : FLIBBERTIGIBBET

2-down – Rip easel apart, making new framework : ESPALIER

3-down – Husband rather displaying a uniform response : HABIT

4-down – A battered hamper containing round jars : AMPHORAE

5-down – Hope is what a church may have : ASPIRE

6-down – Realist to upset philosopher : ARISTOTLE

7-down – Bill joins a security organisation – it has a number of branches : ACACIA

8-down – Various beetles in crop and in tree : BRISTLECONEPINE

15-down – Poet has pretension over hair : SIDEBURNS

17-down – Threatening minister: a member of the Opposition? : MINATORY

18-down – Like many a worker when the whistle goes : FULLTIME

20-down – Strip club of low repute on the street : DIVEST

21-down – Plan fully developed to bypass city area : RECIPE

23-down – One inside betrayed firm : SOLID

1-across – Provider of food made a hole in the salad : CATERESS

5-across – Shopping area aboard ship supplies underwear : SMALLS

9-across – Arraign a rowdy land reformer : AGRARIAN

10-across – Girl holds soldier displaying painful condition : ANGINA

12-across – Daring individual making do with shared expenses : BOTTLEPARTY

15-across – Honest Frenchman’s domain : REALM

17-across – Sharp implement requires insurance by proposed law : HEDGEBILL

18-across – Make unwilling ponies relaxed with Sid : INDISPOSE

19-across – Duplicate bridge player’s in a knot : TWINE

20-across – Come to understand rage’s inconsequential : SEETHELIGHT

24-across – Article’s focus is God : ANUBIS

25-across – Old general in Riga brewed drink : AGRICOLA

26-across – Impressive number invested in trophy : POTENT

27-across – Pick-pockets backed accepting grant in sterling : SPLENDID

1-down – Legislative body has money for wine : CHAMBERTIN

2-down – Communist receives a caution over Socialist fortune-tellers : TAROTCARDS

3-down – Road over a river in the country : RURAL

4-down – Sniper notes owl : SHARPSHOOTER

6-down – Dicky met Boleyn in place of security : MONEYBELT

7-down – Premier decapitated in retreat : LAIR

8-down – Principal gives up deserters : STAR

11-down – Supply a need for game fellow, good during strike : BRIDGETHEGAP

13-down – Doctor stifling row over gangster’s headgear : RIDINGHOOD

14-down – The lad ends confusion, sitting on the dealer’s left : ELDESTHAND

16-down – Wrongly give Military Intelligence crack troops’ warning : MISASSIGN

21-down – Beliefs about island in river : LOIRE

22-down – Coquette put on a new face : VAMP

23-down – Money for boat : PUNT

7-across – Type inclined to emphasise things : ITALICS

8-across – Stopping by sea, say, and relaxing : CEASING

10-across – Spoil crossword compiler with male twins : IMPAIR

11-across – Person in a state? : AMERICAN

12-across – May be ordered off for scoffing : MENU

13-across – Spots a count amongst the space travellers : SATELLITES

14-across – Dislike taking piano on loan, but it’s brilliant! : RESPLENDENT

19-across – Because at an auction it’s grim? : FORBIDDING

22-across – Look both ways : PEEP

23-across – It’s designed for lifting a bearing for withdrawing lubricant : AEROFOIL

24-across – Killed everyone in flat : FALLEN

25-across – Black sweetheart packs ornaments : BEDECKS

26-across – Pity about Rome’s redevelopment : REMORSE

1-down – Don’t speak well of French mistress in feature : STAMMER

2-down – Like to go round old city for enjoyment : PLEASURE

3-down – Trouble on board is frightening : SCARES

4-down – Always reverses broken lead as shown : REVEALED

5-down – Fool is standing in one Italian town : ASSISI

6-down – Busy when given a ring? : ENGAGED

9-down – Struggle if led off after fighting here : BATTLEFIELD

15-down – The elderly stand in groups – they stop people getting in : PADLOCKS

16-down – Raised article on about staff of emperor : NAPOLEON

17-down – Coward speaking of what he did when frightened? : COWERED

18-down – Vicar takes tongue back : REVERSE

20-down – Reserved yet finding love good in bed! : BOOKED

21-down – The boss found two fellows in a terrible rage : GAFFER

8-across – Wade, perhaps in Surrey water : VIRGINIA

9-across – See 18 : OFTHE

10-across – See 26 : SIDE

11-across – One day TV is to be free of offensive recording : VIDEONASTY

12-across – See 25 : PRAWNS

14-across – Spooner has to offer a kick up the backside to get a drink in North America : ROOTBEER

15-across – Home of the meadow pipit, perhaps, most inadequate : LEANEST

17-across – Cumbrian town in H. Pinter play : PENRITH

20-across – Extinct bird with nails hammered in – work of Enigmatist? : MONALISA

22-across – Poet’s boring to study : DRYDEN

23-across – Spider, if black, say, a feature of Dracula? : WIDOWSPEAK

24-across – Railway from Birmingham reportedly to be cut : LOIN

25-across – Crustaceans in spring water all at sea : TIGER

26-across – Mistress got her teeth into the Arsenal? : BITONTHE

1-down – One work unit’s about to be in line for delicate metalwork : FILIGREE

2-down – Fit for party leader? The leader has been deposed : AGUE

3-down – See 18 : KNIVES

4-down – Comic cut short: time’s up for comic character : DANDARE

5-down – Move the old books I’m mad about? : LOCOMOTE

6-down – Home Secretary and rock’n’roll guitarist: one’s barren, another’s wild : STRAWBERRY

7-down – Make one’s home in Cumbrian town : SETTLE

13-down – Aussie flier twice took gold, overhauling silver both times : WONGAWONGA

16-down – Shearer’s possession, the overhead kick : SCISSORS

18-down – Ken Livingstone and the FT go h-h-horribly together for a culling of Tory ministers : THENIGHT

19-down – Bond once by following Buddhism south of Los Angeles : LAZENBY

21-down – Drug given for nothing? Then one’s head going round : OPIATE

22-down – Plane providing information about fighter’s downfall : DAKOTA

24-down – See 18 : LONG