CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

No 16,121

ACROSS

1 Belgians had mistreated someone in Dhaka (11) 9 Priest, one in sect, is the guilty party (7) 10 King delighted to be linked by blood (7) 11 Go off to right after reversing (3) 12 Serbia managed to conceal a place for fighters (3,4) 13 Jazz fan runs round empty nightclub (7) 14 John’s beginning to like ducks (3) 15 A brief Athenian match (5) 17 Article in ‘The Queen’ that puts you to sleep (5) 18 Perverse need to tour Germany called off (5) 20 Cheeky young thing accepts work that appears suddenly (3-2) 22 On way back, professor gives approval (3) 24 Suspend party grandee initially looking ashamed (7) 25 Big cat’s fifty different noises (7) 26 Sodium with yttrium giving negative response (3) 27 Fabulous animal hospital in Crimea collapsed (7) 28 Colourful palette of artist in London area (7) 29 Watson and Crick cracked this and retired (7,4)

DOWN

1 British man in dog-collar spoiled ‘Strictly’ feature (8,7) 2 Five in Narnia spoiled idyllic place (7) 3 Volume drunk by engineers (5) 4 Queen goes in to scrap each piano costing very little (4,5) 5 Like some tablets left in very blue compound (7) 6 Apparently identical, their angle can be altered (15) 7 Small stroke that may be illegible (6) 8 Cutter travelled north to obtain it (6) 16 Revolting theatre worker goes round waving gun (9) 18 English start to collaborate in this value system (6) 19 Anger duke replacing knight in prison (7) 21 Six spades in dreadfully poor condition (7) 23 Reject litter dropper engaged in racket (6) 25 Cyril demolished theatre in Hammersmith (5)