Ben Roberts-Smith took the stand on Thursday after publishers accused of defaming him detailed how the war veteran allegedly murdered six civilians and engaged in a cover up campaign, with the soldier saying he was “devastated” by the allegations.
News publisher Fairfax has been accused of attempts to intimidate Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyer in contempt of court by publishing inaccurate media reports that the solicitor is in a romantic relationship with the former soldier, after a judge said the reports had made him “uncomfortable”.
Decorated war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith is owed record aggravated damages from Fairfax for publishing allegations of war crimes that it knew was false and decimating his reputation, a court has heard.
Former soldiers driven by ‘corrosive jealousy’ of Ben Roberts-Smith plotted to take down the Victoria Cross recipient and were aided by “credulous journalists”, a court has heard.
The ex-wife of accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith may have accessed his email account containing privileged communications with lawyers, a barrister for the former soldier told a judge on the eve of his defamation trial against Nine.
Ben Roberts-Smith faces potential reprisal from the Taliban as a soldier accused of war crimes, a judge has been told as she hears a dispute over the release of documents on four key Afghani witnesses set to testify in his upcoming defamation trial.
Ben Roberts-Smith has raised “serious concerns” in his defamation case against Fairfax that the media company may have unlawfully published classified material he allegedly buried in his backyard, with the war veteran asking for an explanation of where it came from.
News publishers facing a defamation suit by Ben Roberts-Smith have called on the war veteran to explain alleged “deliberate concealment” of documents relevant to the case, as the Australian Federal Police reveals they are investigating claims he buried evidence.
A judge has allowed four Afghan witnesses who allegedly saw Ben Roberts-Smith kick a handcuffed Afghan citizen off a cliff to give evidence remotely when the Australian war veteran’s defamation case against three newspapers heads to trial in June.
Macquarie Bank is challenging a ruling that it pay $330,000 in pecuniary penalties after it was found to have underpaid a group of former financial advisers because of a “defective and deficient” payment system.