Bruce McWilliam labels Seven expense claim allegations 'a disgrace' in fiery email

Two of Australia’s largest media companies, Nine Entertainment and Seven West, have clashed over allegations that one of Seven’s most high-profile stars misused their generous expense account.

Network Seven's commercial director Bruce McWilliam Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.

Two of Australia’s largest media companies, Nine Entertainment and Seven West, have clashed over allegations that one of Seven’s most high-profile stars misused their generous expense account.

Nine Newspapers has been pursuing the allegations for months, but the matter escalated last week in a fiery email exchange between Seven’s commercial director Bruce McWilliam and a journalist from The Sydney Morning Herald.

The emails, obtained by The Australian, reveal the media lawyer labels the reporter from the Nine-owned masthead a “complete disgrace” for their line of questioning over the matter, and accuses the newspaper of engaging in a “witch hunt”.

The allegations put by Nine to Seven relate to the staffer’s potential breach of the company’s guidelines on the use of expense accounts.

According to an email from Mr McWilliam to the SMH, the star at the centre of the allegations, who The Australian has chosen not to name, was granted “discretions” with Seven’s contra account.

The Australian is not suggesting any fraud took place, and is not aware of any wrongdoing by the Seven staffer.

It’s understood the outstanding money was repaid by the Seven employee when the discrepancies in the contra account were discovered earlier this year.

In the email exchange between the Nine reporter and Mr McWilliam, the journalist asks Seven for a response to allegations that the employee in question had used the company’s resources to “gain personal benefit” and also used the “contra accounts to deliver benefits to … friends and associates”.

“The use of a listed company’s resources is in the public interest,” the SMH journalist writes.

Mr McWilliam replies: “You guys (Nine) must have a weird idea of budgets.”

Taking further umbrage at the journalist’s straightforward questions and “unfounded reports” – none of which have been published by Nine’s news platforms – Mr McWilliam writes: “You are a complete disgrace. People pour poison into your ear and you use it. You must feel great about yourself. Go with God.”

It’s understood that Nine has indicated to Seven that it will not be pursuing the story for the time being, but that situation could change if more information about the matter comes to light.

The latest stoush between Nine and Seven sits against the backdrop of the long-running legal matter involving Victoria Cross winner (and Seven employee) Ben Roberts-Smith, who is awaiting the outcome of defamation action he launched against Nine

In 2018, the SMH and The Age (owned by Nine) and The Canberra Times (which was owned by Nine at the time) published claims that Mr Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Mr Roberts-Smith stood aside from his executive job at Seven West Media last year prior to the commencement of the defamation hearing. The ex-soldier’s defamation case against Nine has been bankrolled by the billionaire proprietor of Seven West Media, Kerry Stokes, who is also the former chairman of the Australian War Memorial.