1: Frantically parries swords (7)

5: Walking upright, P. Abide turned left (7)

9: Lignite with low carbon content (5,4)

10: Complain about the horse (3)

11: Odds of niece being born (3)

12: Measure of fitness sure leapt after work-out (5-4)

13: Bugler to stand playing in fields of war (13)

16: Defusing timer incorrectly can lead to this! (13)

20: Friendly over age of consent? (9)

22: Later round without an opponent (3)

23: Road without a pole (4)

24: Bride's outfit - a sort of shirt by Jean-Jacques? (9)

26: Flutter the eyelids over the French shellfish (7)

27: Search for an escapee, one vandal hiding in mountain (7)

1: Bird accompanying gangster or outlaw (5,4)

2: Wanderer features in ones best adage (7)

3: Age of neo-catastrophe? (3)

4: Circles back in reel (5)

5: Bird dog bites boisterous lad (4,5)

6: Sent one page rewritten in military lingo (11)

7: Black hole shows how droppings take time (7)

8: Slender flame's emanation (5)

12: Bend in Pennsylvania court case related to revered founder (11)

14: UCLA urea tests involve internationally recognized scientists (9)

15: Outfit in which one walks when outside the ship? (9)

17: Substitute for ants terrible racket (5,2)

18: Submit 7-down as a scene for drama (7)

19: The short one may be drawn (5)

21: First bud to emerge in flower. (5)

25: Sounds like a bright child (3).