There seems to be a Nina in the 4th row: MORRISON. Too improbable to be anything else. But I can't see any follow-up or continuation elsewhere. The 14th row has "DUE CE ME" which makes sense...
LOI, totally stumped. 5. Tobacco, when combined with fat, may be 9, 15 (5, 10). 9,15 is YELLOW SUBMARINE. I'm pretty confident in the crossers B_A_Y, _C_O_T_A_E. Possibly an anagram of...
LOI: "1,4 Previous message in a bottle (6,6).
Crossers P_L_C_ _E_O_D
I'd guess "Police Record" but can't see parsing. Second word could be "Second", first could be "Palace", but I can't parse....
Last one, totally stuck on 15,25a: "Driven thing with little power, sadly Blair not in control (7,5). I have crossers _e_i_n_ r_b_n, not certain about the r....
Last word, have all the intersecting letters but flummoxed. 25. China from Japan, an inevitability while going 11 [=due west?] (7). I have S_T_U_A. Seto is a Japanese city known for porcelain, but...
One remaining clue I can't figure out: 26a/8d: Put your foot down? Yes and no (4,4).
I have crossers -I-K A-S-. Best guess is "kick ***" but can't fully parse....