CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

8. Surround one with a less clean rice (8)

9. Give me back an ointment to preserve with fragrance (6) 10. Being at top FA level in PM’s office (11)

11. Female gametes can be partially renovated (3)

13. Be eleven, and in the wrong set (5)

15. They grab her scant sun-top like this (9)

17. Redhat has excellent qualities such as temperance and fortitude (8,7)

19. Condescend to grant or have focus shifted (9) 21. Gateshead shut out the ruffians (5)

23. Incline to give one a racing recommendation (3) 24. Inventors go to him to make tepee in a sort of pageant (6,5) 27. With which one can draw a narrow beam of light (6) 28. The lists of various plants (8)

DOWN

1. Self-starvation in area ox might roam (8)

2. It is not a flabby business concern (4)

3. Loosely speaking, the mass of rock one won’t quite put on TV (5)

4. Things one has with one, such as pens for cats, feel different (8,7)

5. It’s about the old, tragic ire it replaces (9)

6. Starts off by imitating West Indian witchcraft (3)

7. Sort of pink trefoil (6)

12. The endless chat about thick hair (6)

14. Deuce’s wild, which could lead one astray (6)

16. Make unau sully it, but not in the ordinary way (9)

18. Train driver taking last locomotive in green (8)

20. Nothing exists for such oil producers (6)

22. One in case one has a top-liner around (5)

25. French holiday place, say, shown up about it (4)

26. Piece of legislation that’s a bit of a drama (3)