Protection for first of ministers to be airbrushed from explosive images (5)
I believe the answer is:
aegis
'ministers to be airbrushed from explosive images' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'protection for first' is the wordplay.
'protection' becomes 'egis' (egis is a kind of protection).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'first' becomes 'a' (first letter of the alphabet).
'egis' put after 'a' is 'AEGIS'.
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aegis that I've seen before include "Protection - patronage" , "Backing or support" , "Protection or support" , "Friendly endorsement and guidance" , "Protection, backing" .)