Stated that a few had gone wrong (7)

I believe the answer is:

averred

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'stated' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a few had gone wrong' is the wordplay.
'few' becomes 'v'.
'had' says to put letters next to each other.
'gone wrong' becomes 'erred' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'a'+'v'+'erred'='AVERRED'

'that' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for averred that I've seen before include "Maintained" , "Alleged, asserted" , "Stated to be the case" , "Held" , "confidently stated" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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