THE CRYPTIC:

ACROSS

1. Insect, strange, found in a chamber (6)

4. Urge factory to produce a vegetable (8)

10. Grass tuber – but generally inactive (5,6)

11. Lug headless grizzly? (3)

12. Garfunkel is an excellent worker (7)

14. Discussed club, indeed (7)

15. More paths to inappropriate images (5,9)

17. Man died chasing feral abaci! (6,8)

21. Siren blared after Royal Engineers rebelled again (7)

22. Manager berates inclusion of African Daisy (7)

23. Nothing in river of fermented taro (3)

24. Recklessly, several can German immortal (11)

26. Sky cited incorrectly at news centre (4,4)

27. Hexapod in popular cult (6)

DOWN

1. Companion pretends, and applauds (8)

2. Thanks – turn to the Greek letter (3)

3. Without stockings, and not watered (7)

5. Singular agenda discerned for self-motivated protectors (8,6)

6. Bear with an expression of contempt – but he’s a very important person! (4-3)

7. A chap with mountains around a circle – can leave the landscape bare! (5,6)

8. Rave about one in a deal (6)

9. Desperate surgeons in need of audio manipulation (5,9)

13. Cab with red mist appearing – tell him to stuff his work! (11)

16. English mark obtained French delicacy (8)

18. Popular dates turned out otherwise (7)

19. String instrument with French sound – goes on and on! (5,2)

20. 101: fortified wine turns to cancer, perhaps (6)

25. Single church and diamonds (3)

Solution next week