DAILY MAIL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Try out underground laboratory equipment (4,4) 5 Tear a strip off floor covering (6) 9 Delay correcting atheist about earth’s origin (8) 10 Go after prize United claimed (6) 12 Govern Luxembourg in the French way (4) 13 Say no to old car dump (6,4) 15 UFOs causing upset among pilots (6,7) 19 Levy a director cutting a deluxe TV ad abroad (5-5,3) 23 Grace busily tucked into beet, finding plastic item (6,4) 25 It’s for hire at about 11 (4) 28 Book one has returned about artificial intelligence (6) 29 Bullfighter to study soldiers (8) 30 Yak aren’t nervous about Tibetan chief (6) 31 Throw out black can containing sulphur monoxide (8)

DOWN

1 Spin this initially rather tempting top (1-5) 2 Some of this is allocated for weaving mats (5) 3 Washington, for instance, loses top gallery (4) 4 Connecting stake with very small fence centrally (7) 6 A delightful accent (5) 7 Dance by Nureyev and Fonteyn sexed up ad dramatically (3,2,4) 8 Step into lock, making unlawful intrusion (8) 11 Clothes for useless people (4) 14 Group of nasty people work at keyboards (4) 15 What shortbread might do in autumn all by itself? (4,5) 16 Follow up object of reverence (3) 17 Busy with uniform, altered top (2,2) 18 Writer’s upset court No. 1, overturning expulsion (8) 20 Channel avoided on radio (4) 21 Peer over medal for somewhere to hang it? (7) 22 French car misses English tree (6) 24 Burial site, opposite of 6? (5) 26 Chilean desert borders these (5) 27 Abandoned port (4)

PRIZES of £20 will be awarded to the senders of the first three correct solutions checked. Solutions to: Daily Mail Prize Crossword No. 15,597, PO BOX 3451, Norwich, NR7 7NR. Entries may be submitted by second-class post. Envelopes must be postmarked no l