Possibly an official enquiry from them, as a way to break awkward situations (8)
I believe the answer is:
stewards
'possibly an official enquiry from them' is the definition.
(as in a stewards' enquiry in horse-racing)
'a way to break awkward situations' is the wordplay.
'a way' becomes 'ard' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to break' is an insertion indicator.
'awkward situations' becomes 'stews' (stew can mean an anxious feeling or situation).
'ard' placed inside 'stews' is 'STEWARDS'.
'as' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for stewards that I've seen before include "Attendants, on aircraft say" , "They look after passengers on aircraft and ships" , "Custodians" , "Persons employed to manage estates" , "They look after passengers on aircraft or ship" .)