Outfielder by Hotspur

Puzzle explanation

The extra letters in wordplay spelt out “missing diplomats”, as newspapers at the time referred to the spies Guy BURGESS and Donald MACLEAN when they disappeared on 26 May 1951, having fled to MOSCOW. The flight was described in The Missing Diplomats, a 1952 book written by Cyril Connolly in collaboration with Ian Fleming (which was an inspiration for the creation of Fleming’s James Bond character). On 1 July 1963, Edward Heath announced to the House of Commons that Kim PHILBY was the Third Man who had alerted the pair that Maclean was being investigated. The puzzle’s title referred to the third man fielding position in cricket. According to later accounts, Philby in Washington DC alerted Moscow that Maclean was suspected of being the Soviet spy codenamed “Homer”, Burgess was sent to London to arrange Maclean’s defection to the USSR, which he did with Anthony Blunt and their KGB spymaster Yuri Modin, and Moscow decided that Burgess should accompany Maclean.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Answer Explanation [extra letter]
Across
1 LYOPHIL HIL(a) after PLOY *
6 BYATT BATT around [M]Y
10 INCLINE homophone of INK + LINE
12 OSHA O + SH[I]A
13 WEEN WEEN(y)
14 ADIT ’AD IT
15 BILATERALISM BLAIRISM * around [S]LATE
16 UDON [S]UD + ON
18 EUROPA (OP after UR) in EA
21 TINE TIN + E(gg)
22 BASIC B[I]AS + I’ + C
23 GEOSYNCLINAL (SLY + CONGENIAL) *
25 EXPEL EEL around XP
27 ENSA (ke)EN SA(tire)
29 STRIAE [N]ASTIER *
31 ELEA (Aristot)ELEA(n)
32 SUBSTITUTION (BUST IN SITU [G]OT) *
36 OLIO OLID with O for D
37 NODE ANODE − A
38 YAKS YA(n)KS
39 NITRATE (TAINTE[D] + (bo)R(ax)) *
40 SLO-MO SOLOMON − N − O
41 SCOWDER SCOW + RED <
Down
1 LIMBURG (GRUB + MIL(d)) <
2 OCELOT LOT after ECO <
3 HINTS HITS around N
4 INFERENCE IN + FENCE around RE
5 LEAR L[I]E + A(s) + R
6 BEDAUB BED + AUB(urn)
7 ASTI [P]ASTIS − S
8 THESPIAN HE in P[L]AINTS *
9 TARMAC T + ARM + AC
11 LEA LEA(n)
17 NISEI NI + SEI
18 ECCENTRIC (ENTIRE + CCC) *
19 RAISE homophone of RAYS
20 TEXTURAL TEXTUAL around R
24 LEANDER LEAN + [O]DER
25 ESSAYS [M]ESS + AYS
26 LATINO (ON + ITAL) <
28 ALIDAD A + L[A]ID + AD
30 RUN TO RUNT + O
33 BOKO BO[T] + KO
34 IONS TEN[S]IONS − TEN
35 TOR TO + R
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