Take control of evacuated remote pub harbouring insurgent leader (4,2)
I believe the answer is:
rein in
'take control' is the definition.
'rein in' can be an answer for 'control' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'take' bit.
'evacuated remote pub harbouring insurgent leader' is the wordplay.
'evacuated' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (internal letters are evacuated from the word).
'pub' becomes 'inn' (an inn is a type of pub).
'harbouring' is an insertion indicator.
'leader' suggests taking the first letters.
'remote' with its centre removed is 're'.
The first letter of 'insurgent' is 'i'.
'inn' going around 'i' is 'inin'.
're'+'inin'='REIN IN'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rein in that I've seen before include "Person of great power" , "Restrain (someone)" , "Control" .)