He composed "Rule Britannia" from clear necessity (4)
I believe the answer is:
arne
'he composed rule britannia' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'from clear necessity' is the wordplay.
'from' indicates a hidden word.
'ARNE' is hidden within 'clear necessity'.
(Other definitions for arne that I've seen before include "Rule Britannia's composer, d. 1778" , "Rule, Britannia author" , "Rule Britannia composer, d. 1778" , "Thomas --, composer of Rule, Britannia!" .)