Legal bills in Ben Roberts-Smith case may be $100 million
Legal costs in the long-running Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case could run as high as $100 million, it’s been revealed.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Billionaire Channel 7 boss Kerry Stokes stepped in to pay the legal fees of a key witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case because the Australian Defence Force had offered him no support.
The Victoria Cross recipient’s former SAS patrol commander identified as Person 5 told the Federal Court yesterday that his $65,000 legal fees were being covered by Seven.
He is just one of a string of witnesses whose bills are being picked up in the long-running legal battle that is estimated could run as high as $100 million.
On the other side Nine, which is being sued by Mr Roberts-Smith for falsely alleging he committed war crimes, is funding the legal bills of a string of witnesses including former soldiers.
To mount its defence that the allegations are true Nine has also paid the legal bills of Mr Roberts-Smith ex-wife, a former lover known as Person 17 and funded accommodation, travel and legal fees of witnesses who gave evidence from Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Mr Stokes later issued a statement clarifying that Person 5’s legal bills were being charged by Seven to his private company Australian Capital Equity.
Mr Stokes, who has just stepped down as chair of the Australian War Memorial, is also underwriting the legal bills for Mr Roberts-Smith, who has put up his Victoria Cross and other medals as surety.
“Kerry discovered Defence was not covering some of the witnesses’ legal expenses so he stepped into the breach,” said the spokesman.
Person 5 told the court yesterday that he had been called in for an interview for the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) inquiry in May 2018. He denied colluding with Mr Roberts-Smith over what they would say about the SAS raid on a Taliban compound known as Whiskey 108.
He confirmed speaking to Mr Roberts-Smith afterwards but denied breaching secrecy protocols. “I never told him any of the details of the interview. I told him it was a witch hunt,” he said.
Person 5 said he did speak to Mr Roberts-Smith about the accuracy of Nine newspaper reports alleging war crimes at Whiskey 108 when they were published. “They got the date right and that’s about it,” he said.
The hearing continues.
SUPPORT DURING LONG CASE
Ben Roberts-Smith has quietly sat alone at the back of the Federal Court every day as his defamation case against Nine newspapers has rolled on.
But he has found some support and respite in the evenings with girlfriend Sarah Matulin, who this week joined him in the Royal Hotel in Paddington for a quiet drink.
It has been a better week for the 43-year-old former SAS corporal whose legal team called the first of his witnesses in the long-running case.
The witness, his former patrol commander identified as Person Five, gave evidence that backed up his own that he had not committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Mr Roberts-Smith, who is general manager of Channel 7 in Queensland, met Ms Matulin while she worked at the media company.
She has since moved to Gold Coast PR agency Ruby Communications.
Ms Matulin has flown down from Brisbane previously to support the soldier through the hearing.
Would-be thieves in a flutter after tourist attraction break-in thwarted
A popular northern NSW tourist attraction filled with exotic butterfly species has been broken into, with owners saying the alleged would-be burglars fled the scene after “freaking out”.
Raptor cops swoop on Sydney’s ‘fast-food bandit’
A strike force has swooped on a man charged after a string of robberies at fast-food burger and pizza restaurants across western Sydney during a terrifying 16-day spree.