What's sought by government dissembler turning up? (5)
I believe the answer is:
grail
'what's sought' is the definition.
(in a phrase like 'the holy grail of science')
'by government dissembler turning up?' is the wordplay.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'government' becomes 'g'.
'dissembler' becomes 'liar' (I've seen this before).
'turning up?' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'liar' written backwards gives 'rail'.
'g' next to 'rail' is 'GRAIL'.
(Other definitions for grail that I've seen before include "Famous chalice" , "Medieval knights sought the Holy . . . . ." , "Round Table Knights sought the Holy ....." , "Cherished goal" , "Chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper" .)