Clues

1-across – 3kw, perhaps, to make a strong nation redundant? : FIREPOWER

6-across – Ultimate blow for the Electric Company at the Lizard? : GECKO

9-across – 3-ed MPs met Church of England twice; I lost the drift : SELECTCOMMITTEE

10-across – Betted, backing out-of-form steeplechaser up from Hitchcock film : DIAL

11-across – The devil within the law is not expressed : IMPLICIT

14-across – Female students, one of them in Scots county till sell-by date : SHELFLIFE

15-across – Butterfly provides clue about prince and king getting badly stuck between hard and soft : CHALK

16-across – 10 ephah arrival : COMER

18-across – Hope tuner can make it on cue : THEREUPON

20-across – Brought up by unexpected U-turn at sign of danger : NURTURED

21-across – See 26 : FLAG

25-across – Rides out with complete article about a wing from home base : RESIDENTIALAREA

26-across – Yellow iris the police, without worry, backed with most of … : WATER

27-across – … setting of precious stone: there’s poetry in set of sail : SILVERSEA

1-down – Browsed around the Guardian, ready for lights out? : FUSED

2-down – Get a new tenant for free : RELEASE

3-down – Choose a burner of papers? : PICK

4-down – See 3 : WICK

5-down – One who belongs in the grass between 24 and 23s : REMEMBERED

6-down – Diagram of crossword requiring key when one’s stuck : GRIDLOCKED

7-down – Dealt, with two aces, the first of two wales : CETACEA

8-down – Passed green brought in from a tree : OVERTAKEN

12-down – See 10 : MFORMURDER

13-down – Literary lions, classically, are troubles wished on brides : LITTLEONES

14-down – Back protest by centre forwards? : SECONDROW

17-down – Impressionist causing upset to treacher during assembly : MORISOT

19-down – Missile discovered by plough : POLARIS

22-down – Fruit from Antigua vastly overrated : GUAVA

23-down – See 15 : HILL

24-down – See 15 : BLUE

1-across – Heartless shoplifter beats popular cinema : THEFLICKS

6-across – Slew King of the Underworld, backing out : SKID

10-across – Guardian of Tower opposed in rear approach : RAVEN

11-across – Refuted by Donne in the Irish Sea? : ISLEOFMAN

12-across – Make a cartoon about terrorists capturing former African dictator : ANIMATE

13-across – Turned pale at Latin, but passed : ELAPSED

14-across – Demonstrate on unusual instrument : ONDESMARTENOT

17-across – Split up in the haze and take the wrong way : MISUNDERSTAND

21-across – Hun and Inca breaking loose : UNCHAIN

22-across – Would being so suit her? Doubtful : HIRSUTE

24-across – Pets rejected famous Roman’s clipped bits : STACCATOS

25-across – Put up with stockings: turn in : HOUSE

26-across – Grass in a mess : HASH

27-across – Quiet celebrity put out, having to get to work manually : PUSHSTART

1-down – Flavour of salt on cooked organ : TARRAGON

2-down – Message delivered by spoken voice : ENVOI

3-down – Percival’s about to stop fool finding a way to help : LENDASSISTANCE

4-down – Ring artist to get vision : CHIMERA

5-down – The Sun has a gap in funds : SOLVENT

7-down – With skill, initially, Uncle Sam and a king look up old manual : KAMASUTRA

8-down – Strip city slicker possessing two quarters : DENUDE

9-down – Composer displays a measure of energy and resistance, pinching hot-headed woman’s underwear : JOHANNESBRAHMS

15-down – Note celebrity’s comeback for a party : DEMOCRATS

16-down – Worker accepted Lawrence before becoming a fan : ADHERENT

18-down – Dope’s no introduction to narcotics, if taken the wrong way continuously : NONSTOP

19-down – Confused sheep’s turn in the old town : EPHESUS

20-down – Places a Companion of the Revolution : PUTSCH

23-down – It may catch in the throat : UVULA

8-across – Jail-bait? : PORRIDGE

9-across – A rendezvous at Shaftesbury : AVENUE

10-across – Nice, so they say, stretch of 20 water : FYNE

11-across – See 15 : MACKINTOSH

12-across – It holds one up at last : COFFIN

14-across – A Bolshevik leaning over to include a number back : LENINIST

15-across – After tea Leslie came inside, returning with family rubbish for 20 architect : CHARLES

17-across – 20 city, working gas in radiance : GLASGOW

20-across – This cast no blight on semi-conventional party : SCOTTISH

22-across – See 15 : RENNIE

23-across – Drunken kilty whams a dram … : MALTWHISKY

24-across – … and another, by the sound of it, on a 20 isle, while … : RHUM

25-across – 20 cap some vermouth : BONNET

26-across – It controls drift when Rosie’s apathetic, they say : LEEBOARD

1-down – 20 submarine base reported to be totally secure : HOLYLOCH

2-down – Amerind procreates without benefit of pastor : CREE

3-down – Umpire? He was out at the cinema : ODDMAN

4-down – Rider covers awfully nice first long drawers : PENCILS

5-down – See 20 : NATIONAL

6-down – Symbolic of Japan? Quite the reverse at the end of the day : SETTINGSUN

7-down – 20 smackers? Utter transport! : BUSSES

13-down – It’s to be cast by the sinless Matthew and Mark on being consumed by fervour : FIRSTSTONE

16-down – Terms of article written in a fit of spite : EPITHETS

18-down – Statistician has lost the bill, old boy! I first give notice of being late : OBITUARY

19-down – The opposite of that let out? It’s a prickly one : THISTLE

21-down – Keep talking about the setting of the Ring : CHATON

22-down – Modes of loads of Toad’s odes : RHYMES

24-down – A piece of fleece : ROOK

1-across – Butt in front to get effective palmistry, for instance : FORTUNETELLING

9-across – Person dropping head if tested a fraction : DEFEATIST

10-across – Joint returns from overtime : MITRE

11-across – Previously unknown sap : LATEX

12-across – Put down our bearing : DEMEANOUR

13-across – Makes lance for huntsman : FALCONER

14-across – Coming back, once more sinks the rest in snooker : SPIDER

17-across – Over-supplied on purpose to render harmless : DEFUSE

19-across – An enticement to hold your child initially when travelling? : CARRYCOT

22-across – Seen, we hear, from country’s headland? : LANDSCAPE

24-across – Religious teacher drifted before one : SWAMI

25-across – Kid’s minder? : NANNY

26-across – Divert trade winds when broaching poorly : SIDETRACK

27-across – On Crimewatch, it gives another chance to study street fight : RECONSTRUCTION

1-down – Play cast includes tot fussing about : FIDDLEFADDLING

2-down – Disproval concerning bad fault : REFUTAL

3-down – Calm and without dissent, I’m substituted by team : UNANXIOUS

4-down – Miscreant lied over atrocity : EVILDOER

5-down – Bearing note about cat to bury : ENTOMB

6-down – Am in trouble getting up for wicked witch : LAMIA

7-down – It can result in call for reserve : NETCORD

8-down – Scared witless as boobs deceive in number : TERRORSTRICKEN

15-down – Mean like one mite, almost? : PARASITIC

16-down – Washer takes last plant : LAVENDER

18-down – One engaged about new money matters : FINANCE

20-down – Bread I knock up after tea : CHAPATI

21-down – Body lacks hot drink : CASSIS

23-down – Writer of lusty love-letters : STYLO

1-across – Playing snooker abandoned for help to the gardener? : POTTINGSHED

9-across – Distance and time on film : FOOTAGE

10-across – Merchant with a fanciful notion : ANTONIO

11-across – Irish girl and boy are annoyed : IRRITATED

12-across – Early idea: the foam must be recycled : AHEAD

13-across – Breaking solvers’ back, like, is no problem! : EASY

14-across – Generative state with a lot of brackets: do nothing in retirement : PARENTHOOD

16-across – Being there from the start with a proper golden face : PRIMORDIAL

19-across – Revolutionary note in the kitchen : CHEF

21-across – The Prince in the Guardian is the big one : WHALE

22-across – It’s like rubber, the beer – send it back to a town near Calais … : ELASTOMER

24-across – … whose law on disturbed rest is dawdling : LOITERS

25-across – … and whose upper-class type with love at heart became a poet : ARIOSTO

26-across – General produces, as a trial, Kipling’s poem in not quite nice setting : NONSPECIFIC

1-down – Pointless 14, around a street at home, is the 23 7 : PROCRASTINATION

2-down – Healthy bread? : TOAST

3-down – Doing nothing for a moment? : INERTIA

4-down – Is he top of de range? : GRANDEE

5-down – Another top in the county, very brief : HOTPANTS

6-down – Translation of 10 16 down’s work made a hit with confused committee : DANCETOTHEMUSIC

7-down – : OFTIME

8-down – Dirty gold acted on pole : SORDID

15-down – Expected to show one’s free : FORESEEN

16-down – River, supply of water to Baden? : POWELL

17-down – The cat and the Queen had briefly retired to put on fancy clothes : DRESSUP

18-down – A Catholic, about a month in France, uses a Semitic tongue : ARAMAIC

20-down – Have babies in a distant line : FARROW

23-down – He will take if the possibility is available : THIEF