 When they did not honour this promise, the Martens successfully campaigned to be allowed to buy the land back.The case led to a public enquiry, changes in the law on compulsory purchase, and the first resignation of a government minister since 1917.According to fellow judge Eustace Roskill, Stevenson's "fluent delivery, distinctive voice, remarkable sense of timing, and pungency of phrase soon marked him out as an advocate of note."