CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

No 16,097

ACROSS

1 Black horse jumps over taxi (7) 5 Trap she devised to catch corrupt men (6) 9 Cole, American composer, steals a couple of books (7) 10 Christmas reindeer or high-stepping horse (7) 11 One of my distant cousins is a primate (3) 12 Bats after tight game (11) 13 Love big letter from abroad (5) 14 Repeat either, losing height, cutting speed (9) 16 He leads services and runs exercises in fair (9) 17 Two men top family member (5) 19 Cutters film first of Kent vines in trouble (5,6) 22 Private Welshman lacks energy (3) 23 I sorted out key people in Fleet Street (7) 24 Examine tiny animal covering head of pin (7) 26 Outstanding university lecturer visits Tyneside, say (6) 27 Group of eminent entertainers make a friendly pact (7)

DOWN

1 Model kit can come in bits (7) 2 Transmission system’s constant noise level a bit tricky (5,10) 3 Stole snake (3) 4 What 23 do, one of them controlling crew (5) 5 Discharge former Lions up undergoing surgery (9) 6 Chairman drinks one whiskey that’s made by Persian (5) 7 Engineer condemned a sorry old school (9,6) 8 It swims in occasionally warm stormy seas (6) 12 Coaches want good sound from ‘The Archers’ (5) 14 Look back on cars supported by Anglicans (9) 15 Love collecting superior coins (5) 16 Church of England stocks fine English drink (6) 18 Short message describing a French fortification (7) 20 City in Japan swaps parts of its capital (5) 21 Declare very old diamonds (5) 25 Pose in T-shirt now and then (3)