CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Parvenu puts off painting perhaps (7) 5 Crawlers and top people welcome monarch (6) 9 Exceptional ring found in ruined chapel (7) 10 Redwood a sine qua non? Sadly, numbers have dropped off (7) 11 Observe southern Europeans (3) 12 Hoax pilot admitting one depression with conviction (11) 13 Rank new material (5) 14 Cold person takes in husband after Roman Catholic cleric (9) 16 Cook chopped meat, keeping a note for authority (9) 17 Relative beginning to enjoy being in French resort (5) 19 Language of comic actor if touring continent (4-7) 22 Support varied occasionally (3) 23 News about entertaining old soldier (7) 24 Examine superior party protection for old warriors (7) 26 Earl bumps into returning judge (6) 27 US star that saved RAF lives in WWII (3,4)

DOWN

1 Implement iTunes somehow on laptop (7) 2 Suspect Morris asked Ron about Mike’s deception (5,3,7) 3 Remains when hot (3) 4 Part of foot — a long claw (5) 5 I’ve sublet rebuilt antechamber (9) 6 Annoy Brazilian racing driver short of time (5) 7 About 20°C, more mature port goes bad, absorbing energy (4,11) 8 Fruit almost covers top of yew tree (6) 12 Priest’s a big gun, by the sound of it (5) 14 Adjust margin etc a little bit (9) 15 It’s pointed, like religious painting I abandoned (5) 16 Lack soil under first of dahlias (6) 18 Last demo organised involving new road (7) 20 Generous representative’s first to go (5) 21 Carry money — some societies revere it (5) 25 Short fat woman (3)