Ben Roberts-Smith has ‘cast-iron alibi’ in defamation case against Nine
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith will head to trial in his defamation case against Nine publications in Sydney in June next year, a court was told today.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Download our app and stay up to date anywhere, anytime
- What you get as a subscriber to The Daily Telegraph
Ben Roberts-Smith will head to trial next June armed with a “cast-iron alibi” in his defamation case against Nine publications, a court has been told.
The Victoria Cross recipient and ex-Special Air Service soldier is suing three former Fairfax newspapers over reports he committed murder while serving in Afghanistan.
He vehemently denies the claims and argues they depict him as a war criminal.
Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, told the Federal Court on Monday his client had a “cast-iron alibi” in relation to a murder allegation when he was serving overseas.
“(Nine’s lawyers) were on notice for over a year that my client had so to speak … an alibi, and one might say a cast-iron alibi - they did nothing about checking that through with the person whom the relied upon ... until the 6th of August 2020,” he said.
“They’ve been on notice of this truth about this allegation for over a year.”
Mr McClintock had said he wanted a trial date set down as early as possible and argued Nine was continuing to publish defamatory articles about his client.
But Judge Anthony Besanko said the matter would not go to trial until June due to the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus restrictions and the chance an early trial date had to be called off at the last minute.
“I’ve given this matter anxious consideration - in normal circumstances I would fix the trial to start in March 2021,” the judge said.
“There is no certainty … about when restrictions, which are likely to impair a substantial in-person trial, are likely to be lifted.
“In my opinion, there is a significant risk that if a March and April date is fixed, but was abandoned shortly prior to these dates, new dates in June and July would not be possible.”
The court was told the trial could go for eight weeks and would be held in Sydney.
An earlier trial date has been set down for last June but this was pushed back due to the pandemic.
Mr McClintock previously told the court Roberts-Smith’s mental health was suffering.
“My client is being continually crucified by the respondents and it’s having a dire impact on his mental health,” he said.
“The respondents are continuing their campaign of slander and defamation through the pages of their newspapers. There’s a weekly article. He’s suffering ongoing damage.”