Daily Answers

1-across – Phone __,newspaper scandal that led to the Leveson inquiry : HACKING

5-across – See 17 Down : PATEL

8-across – Term for ferries designed so vehicles can be driven on and off : ROROS

9-across – Peter Weir thriller starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis : WITNESS

10-across – Australian prime minister,1983-1991 : BOB

11-across – Gift given on the first day of Christmas? : PARTRIDGE

12-across – Australian prime minister,2010-2013 : JULIA

13-across – Australian prime minister,1972-1975 : GOUGH

16-across – Children’s playground game known in Hindi as kit kit : HOPSCOTCH

19-across – A form of ballad or lyrical poem : LAY

20-across – See 13 : WHITLAM

21-across – Jack __,England bowler who made 1 not out batting with Ben Stokes at Headingley,2019 : LEACH

22-across – Musical based on the life of María Eva Duarte de Perón : EVITA

23-across – Religious group native to Kurdistan : YAZIDIS

1-down – Nick __,author of Fever Pitch and About a Boy : HORNBY

2-down – Another name for reindeer : CARIBOU

3-down – The US equivalent of HMRC : IRS

4-down – Welsh peninsula,part of Swansea : GOWER

5-down – Reggae artist and former Wailer : PETERTOSH

6-down – Woollen fabric,usually with a herringbone or twill pattern : TWEED

7-down – __ Hallström,Swedish film director : LASSE

11-down – The queen of the desert? : PRISCILLA

14-down – See 12 Across : GILLARD

15-down – Infectious disease spread by fleas : TYPHUS

16-down – See 10 Across : HAWKE

17-down – Dame __,shadow foreign secretary : PRITI

18-down – 1975 rock opera based on music by The Who : TOMMY

21-down – __ Kendall,secretary of state for Science,Innovation and Technology : LIZ

7-across – Mr __ – who Bob Dylan would have ‘play a song for me’? : TAMBOURINEMAN

8-across – 800 in Roman numerals : DCCC

9-across – A poem by William Ernest Henley,or a film starring Morgan Freeman : INVICTUS

10-across – UK reference work of those who make up the establishment? : WHOSWHO

12-across – __ Hodgkinson,world record holder for the women’s indoor 800 metres : KEELY

14-across – Italian poet,author of The Divine Comedy : DANTE

16-across – __ Muralitharan,holder of the record for 800 test wickets : MUTTIAH

19-across – Kemi __,Conservative party leader : BADENOCH

20-across – __ mountains,marking the border between Europe and Asia : URAL

22-across – Cybernetic assassin also known as T-800? : THETERMINATOR

1-down – Mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate : TALC

2-down – Counting frame using sliding beads : ABACUS

3-down – David __,world record holder in the men’s 800 metres : RUDISHA

4-down – Raoul __,James Bond’s antagonist,played by Javier Bardem,in Skyfall : SILVA

5-down – Former record holder for the men’s 800 metres : SEBCOE

6-down – Spanish grand tour : LAVUELTA

11-down – The Song of __,poem by Longfellow : HIAWATHA

13-down – Salman __,author of Midnight’s Children : RUSHDIE

15-down – Number sometimes known as a score : TWENTY

17-down – Tropical bird known for its colourful bill : TOUCAN

18-down – Venomous snake – or high-level British government briefing rooms? : COBRA

21-down – Common name for the London street atlas created by Phyllis Pearsall : ATOZ

7-across – Elmore Leonard’s sequel to Get Shorty : BECOOL

8-across – Straits of __,waterway between Iran and the Arabian peninsula : HORMUZ

9-across – __ 13,environmental threat caused by air pollution : ACID

10-across – Ruined feature of the Brighton seafront : WESTPIER

11-across – California city known for its tennis tournament : INDIAN

13-across – See 18 Down : RAIN

15-across – See 2 Down : HORN

17-across – Cards of a suit that outranks other suits in contract bridge : TRUMPS

20-across – Waterway linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara : BOSPORUS

22-across – John __,author of Ten Days That Shook the World : REED

23-across – __ Aldridge,character in The Archers : PHOEBE

24-across – How Captain Kirk aspired to go? : BOLDLY

1-down – Strait separating Crimea from Russia : KERCH

2-down – Estuary off the 20 : GOLDEN

3-down – Netflix comedy set in the world of female professional wrestling : GLOW

4-down – The capital of Moldova : CHISINAU

5-down – Jack __,British tennis player : DRAPER

6-down – Princess __,Mrs Jack Brooksbank? : EUGENIE

12-down – Computer network that arose out of ARPANET : INTERNET

14-down – Bob the Builder’s mother? : DOROTHY

16-down – Mount __,dormant volcano in Victoria,Australia : NAPIER

18-down – 1984 film starring Prince : PURPLE

19-down – See 11 Across : WELLS

21-down – Dutch municipality and island in the Caribbean : SABA

1-across – Irish pop group for whom Brian Cox played : DREAM

4-across – The day of rest in Abrahamic religions : SABBATH

8-across – 14/4D poem about a dead man who lay moaning? : NOTWAVING

9-across – See 8 : BUT

10-across – Jack __,the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald : RUBY

11-across – The heart of Las Vegas? : THESTRIP

14-across – Singer whose hits include I Just Called to Say I Love You : STEVIE

15-across – See 14 : WONDER

17-across – See 8 : DROWNING

20-across – Hebridean island : SKYE

23-across – 2020 thriller starring Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell : AVA

24-across – The Romanian capital : BUCHAREST

25-across – The KA in AKA? : KNOWNAS

26-across – Canadian territory bordering Alaska : YUKON

1-down – 1982 Barry Levinson movie starring Steve Guttenberg : DINER

2-down – Ugandan city and airport raided by Israeli troops in 1976 : ENTEBBE

3-down – Utah city,entry point for the Canyonlands National Park : MOAB

4-down – Name that might appear as Ferreira in Portuguese or Kuznetsov in Russian : SMITH

5-down – Bell in the Elizabeth Tower,Westminster : BIG

6-down – Fossilised tree resin : AMBER

7-down – Tottenham __,London football club : HOTSPUR

12-down – __ Falling on Cedars,David Guterson’s debut novel : SNOW

13-down – __ DiMucci,the Wanderer? : DION

14-down – George Baker’s second world war comic strip about a put upon infantry soldier : SADSACK

16-down – FW __,joint Nobel laureate with Nelson Mandela : DEKLERK

18-down – Region of New Zealand’s South Island : OTAGO

19-down – 14a __,singer with Fleetwood Mac : NICKS

21-down – Ben __ and __ John,comedian and musician : ELTON

22-down – Lady __ Talbot,Downton Abbey character played by Michelle Dockery : MARY

24-down – See 5 : BEN

5-across – One of the 6 in Gemini : CASTOR

7-across – The other 6 in Gemini : POLLUX

8-across – __ Gilpin,actor who played Roz Doyle in Frasier : PERI

9-across – One of two impostors identified by Kipling in If … : DISASTER

10-across – Boris __,chess champion beaten by Bobby Fischer in 1972 : SPASSKY

12-across – Tom and __,cartoon characters : JERRY

14-across – Esau and __,6 : JACOB

16-across – A second impostor identified by Kipling in If … : TRIUMPH

19-across – __ : BANGBANG

20-across – See 18 Down : ISLE

22-across – Caitlyn __,former Olympic decathlete and star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians : JENNER

23-across – Fabric from the hair of the Angora goat : MOHAIR

1-down – University in New Haven,CT : YALE

2-down – Joseph __,Russian poet and 1987 Nobel laureate : BRODSKY

3-down – __ Palace,office and residence of the French president : ELYSEE

4-down – Name given to the process in which apple trees lose some fruit before the crop is ripe : JUNEDROP

6-down – The __,characters in The Matrix played by Neil and Adrian Rayment : TWINS

7-down – Italian city,home to Camposanto Vecchio : PISA

11-down – Membranes surrounding the spinal cord : PIAMATER

13-down – The art of folding paper : ORIGAMI

15-down – See 21 : ORGANA

17-down – __ Heep,character in David Copperfield : URIAH

18-down – Place in southern Shetland known for its knitting style : FAIR

21-down – __ and Luke Skywalker,6 : LEIA