Ben Roberts-Smith stands aside from Seven Network role ahead of court battle

Seven chief James Warburton said the move to stand down the war hero ahead of his legal battle with Nine was a ‘mutual decision.’

Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith has stood aside from his role at the Seven Network ahead of his upcoming personal legal battle against rivals Nine. Picture: Department of Defence

Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith has stood aside from his role at the Seven Network ahead of his upcoming personal legal battle against rivals Nine.

In an email to staff on Monday, Seven chief James Warburton described the move as a “mutual decision” that was in the best interests of Mr Roberts-Smith and the media company.

The Victoria Cross recipient is suing Nine Entertainment over a series of stories he claims have portrayed him as a mass murderer and war criminal.

Mr Roberts-Smith, who is the general manager of 7Queensland, has always vehemently denied the allegations and his defamation case against Nine is scheduled to commence in June.

With the trial expected to run for at least eight weeks, Mr Warburton told staff it was unlikely the former SAS patrol commander would return to his position with the company until at least September.

“I wanted to let you know that Ben Roberts-Smith will take leave from his role as General Manager, Seven Brisbane and 7Queensland, to focus on his upcoming legal matters,” Mr Warburton said in an email.

“Ben’s leave will start today. Ben and I believe the mutual decision is best for both him and our company.

“We expect Ben to return to his role upon completion of his defamation proceedings. As the trial is currently set down for eight weeks, it’s likely this won’t be until after August.”

Mr Warburton said that in Mr Roberts-Smith’s absence, 7Queensland staff would report to the team’s sales director, Greg Gable, while Brisbane department managers would be responsible for their own teams.