1-across – Leading article absorbed by red carpet : REPRIMAND

6-across – Chives divided with charm in default of a new system : CAPITALISM

11-across – Tired way for youth to go : WEST

12-across – I supply resin and wood at scholarship time : BURSERA

13-across – Conspicuous dwelling without store of food : FLAGRANT

14-across – Eye corners with songster nearly this : CANTHI

15-across – Quality of a lot of books in church : CALIBRE

17-across – Boy with sigh of affection for me, right way up : LADDER

18-across – Cages in select version of how things are : CEST

20-across – Stories about camel having saved galaxy : ANDROMEDA

22-across – Calculator in gas plant : CACTUS

24-across – See 18 : LAVIE

25-across – Get moving with book featuring animals and Spaniard returning with spirit : BESTIRONESELF

26-across – The Californian port’s official rite, maybe the last : THESACRAMENTOFUNCTION

31-across – Serpentine grower, taking a number by bus, misread wordbook : VIPERSBUGLOSS

35-across – Religious addict as linchpin? : PIVOT

36-across – First of first sort of English with first of second Roman governor : FESTUS

37-across – Honesty and church’s enemy at one? : LUNCHTIME

38-across – Knockabout girl gets the hump : RAMP

40-across – Frightening drinks, a sign united with 11 : SCALES

43-across – Frivolous account of English journey : ETOURDI

45-across – Enter change inside and that is changed : INVADE

47-across – Dilemma with pollarded bong tree in Australia : QUANDONG

48-across – Leading light in Alcoholics Anonymous going for the hard stuff : ALUMINA

50-across – Pay time for sailor : SALT

51-across – Religious house never going to perish on its own : FRIENDLESS

52-across – Finished without stuttering nonconformist being used in anatomy lesson? : DISSECTED

1-down – Whisky — end of — and chaser in North Yorkshire : RYEDALE

2-down – Piece of crumpet I try to eat with 4s : PETIT

3-down – Setter’s got a lot of bricks at a point overlapping : IMBRICATE

4-down – Tricky word for a couple cut short by an expert artist : ABRACADABRA

5-down – Go straight? : DIE

6-down – Frogman caught burrower — it escaped : CRABB

7-down – Piper from Forfar that is drunk under piano : PIFFERARO

8-down – Be losing way : TRAIL

9-down – Film actor Peter absorbing divine account by historian Hugh : LORDDACRE

10-down – Because of something wrong with the church : SINCE

16-down – English name for French city with pride, say : LYONS

19-down – About five digits for creatures that nest under sundials and live on cheese : TOVES

21-down – Correct round number of decree : EDICT

22-down – Not carrying weapons like a whistle : CLEAN

23-down – Paid in advance a little old money in the course of cooking our books : UPFRONT

24-down – I couldn’t hear what you said in the loo about port : LEHAVRE

27-down – Giving it ecstasy would be fatal to this body : CORPS

28-down – The Spanish drink in Scotland : ELGIN

29-down – Playing five sets without it starting to interfere with celebrations : FESTIVITIES

30-down – Thank you very much: Scots scrap name from pub : TAVER

32-down – Use surgical instrument after domestic animal’s turn to peevishness : PETULANCE

33-down – American bird sees bad lad eaten by dog : BALDEAGLE

34-down – Additional article covered in gold : OTHER

35-down – Not the subject of talk about 21 losing time : PREDICATE

39-down – Giving bad name to Democrat: was leader confused? : MUDDLED

41-down – Caught and some mighty blows — the sound of cricket : CHURR

42-down – The cutter that completes the puzzle : SWORD

44-down – Shapes formed by exploding salvo : OVALS

46-down – Call girl to take pew : VISIT

49-down – Indian plant taking turn from Pakistani? : URD

1-across – Pirate gets second prize : SILVER

4-across – A new Irish president’s first subject to inflation : AIRSHIP

9-across – Salad vegetable for choir with acid effect : RADICCHIO

10-across – How much food goes on top of plate? : PRICE

11-across – Toxic element in ravening wolves : VENIN

12-across – King’s depressed shade : ROYALBLUE

13-across – Presumption OK in this hall? : LIBERTY

15-across – Get along mostly with spectroscopic device : ETALON

17-across – Girl who would have a good start around Santiago de Compostela : ALICIA

19-across – Diffusion of liquid is consequent upon the world blowing its top : OSMOSIS

22-across – Skipper, formerly Roman Catholic, embraced by Harriet who’s lapsed : TRIERARCH

24-across – Right about dog? : ROVER

26-across – Pedigree for fully paid 10 of 16, according to Kipling : BLOOD

27-across – Cable holds monster that needs watching : VIGILANCE

28-across – Bird first in line to show this 27 the 10 of 13 : ETERNAL

29-across – Little hole for : EYELET

1-down – Make no comment on stream nearly left to dry up : SHRIVEL

2-down – Bearing much from terrorist : LADEN

3-down – Odd boy accepting one-dollar entry : ECCENTRIC

4-down – A circle with some power is soothing : ANODYNE

5-down – Put off sick person getting up : REPEL

6-down – Audible breeze is threatening things in the family : HEIRLOOMS

7-down – See 8 : PIECES

8-down – Nearly enough for two chess sets, the 10 of 26 if 1 across : THIRTY

14-down – Second helping of Indian food with American port : BALTIMORE

16-down – Day off during which space station’s key to board : ADMIRALTY

18-down – One of three in song heard who has come : ARRIVAL

19-down – Oxygen and hydrogen in close to heaven? : ONHIGH

20-down – Singer and painter second to 1 across : SARGENT

21-down – Holding one’s own and the horses? : STABLE

23-down – Gas attack being made audibly : RADON

25-down – Records of some village outside US city : VINYL

9-across – Duck in animal group : HEROD

10-across – Article on love by Ancient Greek : THEODORIC

11-across – Bizarre act by the man touring Ireland : CATHERINE

12-across – Women wearing garlands : LEWIS

13-across – Form of heating brought to French city : CHARLES

15-across – Yorkshire cheek is heard? One will help man stop flapping : TIECLIP

17-across – Big gun engineers imported : GREAT

18-across – Only three bridge players currently? : NOW

20-across – A very big order for sailors : AVAST

22-across – Illustration of Indian city with dull border : DIAGRAM

25-across – Commander to be removed initially in time of revolution : OCTOBER

26-across – Food that sounds dreadful to some? : OFFAL

27-across – For the old girl I cater with difficulty, losing pounds : GERIATRIC

30-across – Series of deliveries is difficult, we hear? One’s put too much in : OVERSTUFF

31-across – Behold Scottish island, wasting time : LOUIS

1-down – Elegant young bird putting bloke off : CHIC

2-down – Enzyme operates in a strange way : PROTEASE

3-down – Paid less? Keeps doing nothing here : IDLE

4-down – Ex-football manager in on task for rebuilding : ATKINSON

5-down – Skilful, admitting each failure : DEFEAT

6-down – Drug in grown-up rave is contaminating influence : ADULTERANT

7-down – What sounds like grim yarn : CREWEL

8-down – Important people, not female stars : ACES

13-down – Like a budgie maybe of a hundred — old! : CAGED

14-down – Strict adherence to narrow understanding limits real manoeuvring : LITERALISM

16-down – Nag driving son away : PETER

19-down – Plant with strange odour, very strong : WOODRUFF

21-down – Stupid subaltern’s a mug : ALBERTUS

23-down – Cockney semi-embarrassed : ALFRED

24-down – See 21 : MAGNUS

26-down – Something round to toss up? Maybe, once : OBOL

28-down – Beer being served with ten in bar : AXLE

29-down – Go unhurriedly, avoiding a penalty : COST

1-across – Thousands attend entertainment with keyboard instruments : CONCERTGRANDS

10-across – Form of theatre in Bolton? : OCTAGONAL

11-across – Where to find good soil for cultivation in Ireland … : SLIGO

12-across – … belonging to the Irish : THEIR

13-across – In the red with our reduced means we couldn’t sniff its coming : ODOURLESS

14-across – Start grooming the young with the sparkle of celebrity : GLITTER

16-across – Registrar perhaps finds nothing lacking in senior cops : SPLICER

18-across – What takes two to get back into church becoming related : COGNATE

20-across – Panicked boy taken aback by the agency of another : FLAPPED

21-across – One interprets outbreak of pox among tories : EXPOSITOR

23-across – Many joints may be served with these : CHIPS

24-across – Rubber ball so held : SORBO

25-across – Chanel product used by Gardner in the fall : AVALANCHE

26-across – Where to find Roneo ™ copier working? : RECEPTIONROOM

2-down – Not perhaps what a chopper might be doing in flight : ONTHEWING

3-down – Like Othello losing head and going up in smoke : CIGAR

4-down – Ill-feeling of bombardier going to old city? : RANCOUR

5-down – Force sanctions gibbet : GALLOWS

6-down – A tortuous trail in America or elsewhere : AUSTRALIA

7-down – Force of Verdi composition : DRIVE

8-down – Cog teeth cease to chew dairy product : COTTAGECHEESE

9-down – Relishes provided without time to put on courses : HORSERADISHES

15-down – Model managed partner’s turnout to change places : TRANSPOSE

17-down – Free composition of cover to Darnley’s victim : CAPRICCIO

19-down – Pull out when caught from a no ball? : EXTRACT

20-down – Muddled load for distant paper round : FARRAGO

22-down – A dark blue in itself : PERSE

23-down – Provider of support for bums : CHAIR

1-across – First thought diverted : AMUSED

5-across – Marine in base is somewhat fishy : MERMAN

8-across – It’s 8 down from Memphis with California first possibility : WICHITA

9-across – Genealogy featured in 13 10 26 : DESCENT

11-across – 18 is these four walls and unfinished correspondence comprising eggs and veg : SPANISHOMELETTE

12-across – See 25 : BROW

13-across – : CLARATHREW

17-across – Strange idea in town and all over the country : NATIONWIDE

18-across – Nine inches between wing tips? : SPAN

20-across – See 25 : RUGGEDMOUNTAINS

23-across – Crop of animal without ultimate cover : HARVEST

24-across – Horse in quality maritime measure : TONNAGE

25-across – Alpine outlook: hereto, maybe, protected against cold, horse moved as in front … : OERTHE

26-across – See 13 : NURSED

2-down – Play the fool — brass in the area too? : MUCKABOUT

3-down – Whisky bottle? : SPIRIT

4-down – The last straw bad hotel is broken with : DEATHBLOW

5-down – American parent keeping French from computing device : MODEM

6-down – Determined to make newsagents finish off stocking the Sun : RESOLUTE

7-down – A small part of store with competence : ADEPT

8-down – Texas fort located outside New York: best change direction : WESTBYNORTH

10-down – See 13 : THETWINSSHE

14-down – Singular old movie actor still working on TV : REDBUTTON

15-down – Clone animal in theatrical romance : REPLICATE

16-down – Watch part of the way things are going : MOVEMENT

19-down – Junkie who administers primitive punishment : STONER

21-down – Eat too much Cheddar? : GORGE

22-down – Episcopal joint? : MITRE