CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Former state put pressure on much larger one (7) 5 Save extract king ignored (6) 9 Put in a new line respecting marriage (7) 10 Permanent cross missing from outside (7) 11 Mutt can’t understand rules at first (3) 12 Make concrete with less clarity somehow (11) 13 Saw amateur team doctor coming back (5) 14 Cooked meat stew in case fries bombed (9) 16 Likewise army is illprepared (9) 17 A helping of chickpea champ and fruit (5) 19 Switch on incubator for built-up area (11) 22 There’s often one in clue to help you win finally (3) 23 A first-class average recalled cause of weakness? (7) 24 Sort of animal with rear end consisting of plates (7) 26 Restructure time in messy organisation (6) 27 Having swapped sections, bureaucracy came to an end (7)

DOWN

1 Old man comes across an excellent cure-all (7) 2 Unionist Party menial ran off, contrary to House rules (15) 3 Runner is climbing over peak ultimately (3) 4 Colleague inspires English passage (5) 5 Supply power to new fertile city without it (9) 6 Fish container caught on rock (5) 7 Device for a writer wanting to make a point (6,9) 8 Pelt rook (6) 12 Desert transporter arrived late at the front (5) 14 Shoot a large weapon, causing this to go off? (4,5) 15 Like swan’s place to 3 (5) 16 Very secular revolutionary party (6) 18 Old invaders fear losing a former part of county (7) 20 Perhaps watch upcoming area of activity (5) 21 Sound means of entry (5) 25 Shock Brit in Victoria heading north (3)