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In case you're puzzled by this clue:

21a Current spinner is cheered at Lords at first appearance (4)

after seeing that the grid needs a seven letter answer, the grid is correct, the clue works fine for seven letters, it is the '(4)' that is incorrect.

StrangelyBrown, thanks. I hadn't even noticed that, probably because it was a fairly straightforward clue. Some of the others were less so!

Agreed Malone.

17a School has short novel about a Royal Navy battleship sunk in 1943 (11)
A: Scharnhorst.
Annoying obscure general knowledge but that aside, I can't fully parse it.
School = sch, a Royal Navy = arn, which leaves the bit I can't see, how does horst = short novel?

12d Their vessel transport army material (11)?
A: shirtsleeve.
What's this got to do with army material, doesn't the answer refer to anyone wearing a shirt without a jacket? And is it one word?

you're missing something obvious in 17, sb!

Got it ChrisE, thanks.

nice clue, in fact

no idea how the army fits in the other one...

9d Trick rodent trapped by gluttony, note praise (12).
A: congratulate, I assume. If con = trick and rodent = rat, I suppose the te or just e is the note, but I can't see the gluttony in what's left.

Apparently (Wikipedia) 'gula' is the Latin name for the deadly sin of gluttony. Took me a while to discover this!

Thank you cannyannie, if I'm going to have to know Latin then I'm sunk.

12d "army" refers to "arms" (in sleeves), of course - courtesy of a waking moment at 5 this morning! Sneaky!