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17d, scratch that. Got it

Finished, LOI 49. Great fun, a proper Christmas Special, except too late. Managed to ignore the badly-placed solutions. It's a pity they had to print the grid so small, requiring close peering at the tiny numbers, when the page has lots of empty space around the minis.

I've grumbled to the Readers' Editor about the non-appearance pre-Christmas (and also Saturday's initial non-appearance of the killer Sudoku online); had a pleasant reply saying she would forward my comment and was looking forward to tackling Maskerade's puzzle herself!

Managed to complete it in one session this afternoon. One mistake: 15d, which made me think the down ‘J’ clue was missing. Couldn’t parse 23d - can anyone help?
Thanks, David

Also please explain 68a, where I had O instead of E as the middle letter.

15d three letter word for conflict + IVR for Austria. Definition is independence (Indian). Outside letters missing
23d a PSV is a bus, inside a German word for a, one, + two letter abbreviation for ship. Normal clue
68a Definition is Scottish word for heifers. Australian term for U-turn. Outside letters missing

Hi jono - coming late to this and looking forward to getting cracking on it! BUT - I can’t find the puzzle in pressreader - so no clues for the grid you so thoughtfully provided! Any tips? 🤪

Hi Bobs11, there was a link to the clues on 225 but I see now that it has been taken down.
My email is in the Spectator 2699 thread, you’re welcome to get in touch ;-)