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...no, I was right - you do Ignore the extra letter and the one immediately next to it.

Brendan, I found it quite tricky to put down my reasoning (which was crystal clear in my mind), as it's hard to avoid including the actual answer. I hope what you and I set down was enough for Kixie to see that the clue was ... basically fine!

Perhaps there are two ways of looking at it. You could include the M in the initial extraction of letters and then ignore it. Or, using Brendan’s technique, ignore it upfront together with the letter next to it.
In solving, I’m pretty sure I employed the first method.

No problem Malone.

When I saw Kixie's post I immediately knew what she had done because, the first time I came across an alternate letters clue with an extra letter, I did exactly the same thing. I tried to include the letter immediately to the right of the extra letter (so in this I would have tried to include the P) - I even posted the query on here!

Thanks Brendan/Malone/Jono. I actually realised what I had done wrong from Brendan's first reply. I ignored the redundant letter too early in the process. Oh by the way Brendan I am a he not a she. But how would you know?

Thanks Kixie, and apologies for the gender mix-up:-)

Thank you so much for this grid, Jono. It made a real difference!

Thanks, Dove. Glad you found it useful.

You're welcome, Jono.
A long, foggy time ago the Graun did provide interactive grids for the Genius, provided it was 15x15. Then they stopped. I've missed it ever since.
This forum group is a genuine treat, but I don't usually treat myself to it until after I've solved the puzzle and submitted,or have given up on both solving it on my own and submitting, or suspect there may be technical problem. This time it was the latter.
What a delightful surprise it was to see your grid in the first post...
...and then to be assured there was, in fact, a technical problem.
Your puzzle would have been a joy to solve even without the handy grid! 14d was a real groaner...
Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of the thread.

Sorry, Jono--I typed "your" puzzle when I meant "the" puzzle.
I know it was Claw's puzzle!