8-across – Puts a barrier around marine animals starting to smell? : SEALSOFF

9-across – Detest short cape on a bishop : ABHOR

10-across – Drivers try to avoid this carriage : TRAP

11-across – Transform later reign, making more changes : REALTERING

12-across – Formality seen in most architecture : STARCH

14-across – Fish around company laboratory for evidence of environmental friendliness : ECOLABEL

15-across – Part of our capital we dispatch over time : WESTEND

17-across – Literature’s characters in 24 down, then across : LETTERS

20-across – Somehow use ten gears to drive away : ESTRANGE

22-across – Take commercial break, having no anchor? : ADRIFT

23-across – Very brief period in which play after interval is out of order : HALFSECOND

24-across – Take part in crime, a risky undertaking : ABET

25-across – Hearing projections about line for some characters in 1 3 5 22 down : EARLS

26-across – My first is a lot of fresh information, my second’s a climber’s destination, my whole is a language for thought domination : NEWSPEAK

1-down – Plays hard at first — further on they changed : HENRYTHE

2-down – Thunderous applause? : CLAP

3-down – See 1 : FOURTH

4-down – See 7 : OFWALES

5-down – A couple of leading roles 1 3 has : PARTSONE

6-down – Newspaper editor’s leader put in the last section from then on : THEREAFTER

7-down – Eventual successor of 1 3, for example, in 15 theatre : PRINCE

13-down – Cost of journey in two parts, with profit reasonable, we hear : RETURNFARE

16-down – No repetition of three points for which 5 22 could be 2 and 10 : NONSENSE

18-down – Soldier initially reading poem to sweetheart : RIFLEMAN

19-down – Tell the story of number again : RECOUNT

21-down – Puts on vehicles : STAGES

22-down – See 5 : ANDTWO

24-down – Poetic river visible in aerial photograph : ALPH

8-across – Backing great Brazilian dynasty, can male set about protagonist? It’s unavoidable : ELEPHANT

9-across – See 8 : INTHE

10-across – Drink and knife man where conflict once took place : PORT

11-across – Devilish team unchristened The Red Devils : MANCHESTER

12-across – See 25 : VIRGIN

14-across – Move away with energy and speed of plane? : EMIGRATE

15-across – Vim with red bread : BRIOCHE

17-across – Out of which Renault shifted? : NEUTRAL

20-across – Defect, saving final part of national song for the country : BULGARIA

22-across – Insects concealed in bread, heads bitten off : APHIDS

23-across – Virtually no time, so doing backstroke to break ice, cold in water : PICOSECOND

24-across – See 8 : ROOM

25-across – Cooking ingredient very, very original elixir to enjoy, primarily in a stew : EXTRA

26-across – See 25 : OLIVEOIL

1-down – Little room to fail between wings of bomber, incurring more casualties : BLOODIER

2-down – Put cream on this pickle : SPOT

3-down – Men in tights : BATMAN

4-down – See 10 : STANLEY

5-down – Demonstrate, nothing less, one cutting instrument as battleaxe : FISHWIFE

6-down – If pushed, how might trousers fit after Christmas dinner? : ATASTRETCH

7-down – Seconds taken to choose, then do just that? : SELECT

13-down – Less hard, the right gigolo massaged around posterior of bus conductor : GEORGSOLTI

16-down – Death, say, from same extraordinarily piercing bugle : HORSEMAN

18-down – See 3 : ANDROBIN

19-down – Fuel thus with hydrogen locked up? : GASOHOL

21-down – See 11 : UNITED

22-down – Old spaceman finding a way to enter cipher, taking off? : ALDRIN

24-down – Passing through overhead, this bird can’t be? : RHEA

1-across – Man : HECUBA

4-across – Easy source of cash goes very little way when its first seized by dog : MILCHCOW

9-across – Bony cod’s head eaten by prole wandering in coastland : LITTLE

10-across – See 9 : CORPORAL

11-across – Drink and card games in river crossing : WATERLOOBRIDGE

13-across – 8 later dealt with the 9 10 at 11 : WELLINGTON

14-across – 1-0 to Indigo : ANIL

16-across – See 22 : DUKE

18-across – It’s resurrected about monarch’s regal manner, as one’s bound to notice : STRIKINGLY

21-across – Periodically could be three thousand feet : FROMTIMETOTIME

23-across – Tree on desert in Yorkshire : OAKWORTH

24-across – Cross Ulster from the east to be sheltered : INDOOR

25-across – Lament for the brethren Odysseus had lost : THRENODY

26-across – Defeated mention of cookery expert : BEATEN

1-down – He’s going to dam­nation : HELL

2-down – Yowl of disapproval : CATCALL

3-down – Shot goes home making news : BULLETIN

5-down – Picture expert using oxygen — it’s cooling : ICONOLOGIST

6-down – Saucy crimes? : CAPERS

7-down – Foot entitled to add gas to calcium : CARADON

8-down – Sir Arthur the film director’s field : WELLESLEY

12-down – Run away — I won the game when put to rights : LEGITIMATED

13-down – Fired wildly in refusal to have flanks some 15 apart? : WIDEFRONT

15-down – 1 down to beat the church by a comfortable margin : DISTANCE

17-down – Adverse critic at the door? : KNOCKER

19-down – 13 across has books on soup : GUMBOOT

20-down – Between poles, trust is scattered : STROWN

22-down – 13 across on duty initially with his country gripped by anger : IRON

1-across – Message from sovereign on currency : ERRAND

5-across – Letters go to the French and bingo! : LITTLE

8-across – Indication of extended writing about my return with cat : SYMPTOM

9-across – Management of sport in contest? : RUNNING

11-across – Public servant drunk Foster’s in small gallery : MINISTEROFSTATE

12-across – Antelope with no end vigorous style : ELAN

13-across – Needed support of the ass of the bridge unfinished in France : LEANEDUPON

17-across – Fight duel stupidly with student that’s very nice : DELIGHTFUL

18-across – Gilbertian with 17 26 and great 15s, chiefly 9 on 5 across 1s for his 11s : KING

20-across – Vote 1 — if on car it applied, example of 10? : ELECTRIFICATION

23-across – Gleam unevenly — keep boiling when drunk? : SHIMMER

24-across – Painter on top of stove to pour out the tea? : HOBBEMA

25-across – See 19 : WARREN

26-across – Jobs of the French with restrictions : DUTIES

2-down – Limit intended for French novel with everything : ROMANWALL

3-down – Certify being at match : ATTEST

4-down – Mother nested wrongly having done her best : DAMNEDEST

5-down – Broadly inadequate as foil to 5 across : LARGO

6-down – Destiny travelled east from northeast : TYNESIDE

7-down – All that’s unusual in a girl’s name : LEILA

8-down – Where someone lives, say, with lighter garment : SUMMERDRESS

10-down – Fruit, not good and bad, in the business of saving the planet? : GREENAGENDA

14-down – Fed and fed, eating original first : NOURISHED

15-down – Right to take one sixth part of course in physical education : PRIVILEGE

16-down – Sandglass, say, with tiger worried about start of meal : EGGTIMER

19-down – Much of 11 on two Scots rivers points to set of tunnels : RABBIT

21-down – Musical note on sequel to 12 left out : EVITA

22-down – Ran a mile from Khan? : IMRAN

7-across – Home news: Europe backs young actress : INGENUE

8-across – Foreign news? It’s the Observer! : WITNESS

9-across – Member of Air Force One featured in international story : TEST

10-across – Returning Guardian journalist left, say, Cameron rambling : DESULTORY

12-across – Sports editor first to enter fights : WEARS

13-across – Delight for one appearing in centre spread : ENTRANCE

15-across – Exclusive report on popular music : SOUL

16-across – Something extra with Society & Culture : MORES

17-across – Inside pages: return of alternative column : PROP

18-across – Main headline: Unknown actor finds a terrier : SEALYHAM

20-across – See 9 : PILOT

21-across – Edit Nice art on chest? : CONTAINER

22-across – High point: leading article about Middle East : ACME

24-across – Front page report on man of cloth : PRELATE

25-across – Ancient columnist covers it with panache : STYLITE

1-down – Formerly appearing in concert : ONCE

2-down – Spooner hit shops for food : MEATBALL

3-down – Directs boy to catch fish : GUIDES

4-down – Interferes with instrument prior to set up : VIOLATES

5-down – Country where cloth changes hands : ANGOLA

6-down – Top off fine word game : ISPY

11-down – Pilot drops cattle on island : STEERSMAN

12-down – Wife’s pickle is perfect! : WHOLE

14-down – Influence strike : CLOUT

16-down – Princely Indian turns up oil and meat : MAHRATTA

17-down – 23p to fit concrete : PALPABLE

19-down – Cobblers! Thread left by fire! : LINGLE

20-down – Copy pastry with animal filling : PIRATE

21-down – Bear mostly seen in boggy ground : CARR

23-down – China winning? Check! : MATE