Question
In [ case ], installations owned by the oil company in Burma (then a British colony) had been destroyed during World War Two on the orders of the commander of the British forces, to prevent them falling into the hands of the Japanese. By a 3-2 majority the House of Lords held that compensation was payable to the company, there being no general rule that the prerogative could be exercised without compensation. Lord Reid stated: '[T]he prerogative certainly covers doing all those things in an emergency which are necessary for the conduct of war.'