Soldier harboured doubts about Roberts-Smith’s VC honour, court told

A Special Air Service soldier who has given damaging evidence about war veteran Ben-Roberts Smith has told the Federal Court he had doubts about the circumstances in which his former comrade received the Victoria Cross, but denied he was seeking to smear his reputation in court.

The serving soldier, dubbed Person 14, told the court on Tuesday he did not doubt Mr Roberts-Smith put his life in danger during a 2010 battle in Tizak, Afghanistan, for which he was awarded Australia’s highest military honour in 2011, but he did have doubts about the award.

Ben Roberts-Smith outside the Federal Court on Monday.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone

Person 14, whose identity cannot be revealed for national security reasons, was not in Afghanistan in 2010, but served alongside Mr Roberts-Smith in 2009 and 2012.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing for defamation over a series of news reports in 2018 he says portray him as a war criminal. Person 14 is the second member of the SAS to give evidence in the Federal Court in Sydney for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, as the news outlets seek to establish a defence of truth.

“Did the awarding of the Victoria Cross to Mr Roberts-Smith create division within the SAS?” Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses, SC, asked Person 14 on Tuesday.

“No. I was there for the investiture and it was a good day, actually,” Person 14 said.

Person 14 has previously admitted he missed out on a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, when the battle in Tizak took place, because of a disciplinary issue involving him losing possession of a hard drive containing work-related images. He told the court he self-reported the incident to the Defence Force.

Bruce McClintock, SC, one of a team of barristers acting for Mr Roberts-Smith, said during his opening address to the court last year that the soldier’s reputation had been destroyed by a campaign led by “bitter people” in the Special Air Service who were “aided by credulous journalists”.

Asked on Tuesday if he had told Mr Roberts-Smith himself that he had his doubts about his Victoria Cross, Person 14 said: “No.”

“You don’t doubt that he put his life in danger?” Mr Moses asked. “No way,” Person 14 replied.

“You’re not here to second guess those who determined to award that Victoria Cross to Mr Roberts-Smith, are you?” Mr Moses said. “No,” Person 14 replied.

Person 14 agreed he did not know what material decision-makers had before them when awarding the honour to Mr Roberts-Smith.

“Do you resent the fact that Mr Roberts-Smith was awarded the VC?” Mr Moses asked. “No,” Person 14 said.

“Do you resent the fact that he was awarded a VC in respect of a tour that you were held back from going on?” Mr Moses pressed. “No.”

But Person 14 agreed “100 per cent” he was upset he could not go on that tour.

“You’ve come here to throw Mr Roberts-Smith under the bus any way you can, haven’t you?” Mr Moses asked. “No,” the SAS soldier replied.

The Age and the Herald, owned by Nine, and The Canberra Times, now under separate ownership, allege Mr Roberts-Smith committed or was involved in six murders of Afghans under the control of Australian troops, when they cannot be killed under the rules of engagement.

Mr Roberts-Smith maintains any killings in Afghanistan were carried out lawfully in the heat of battle.

Person 14 has said he witnessed Mr Roberts-Smith direct an interpreter in 2012 to tell a member of the Afghan Partner Force to kill an Afghan man they had been questioning, “or I will”. The man was shot dead, he said.

The SAS soldier has also given evidence that he witnessed an unidentified Australian soldier in 2009 shoot a dark, human-like object with a distinctive machine gun that he later saw in the possession of Mr Roberts-Smith.

The soldier had camouflage paint or “campaint” on his face that was “the same, or similar, campaint style as Ben Roberts-Smith”, he said.

Person 14 said he discovered on closer inspection that the dark object was an Afghan man with a prosthetic leg.

He agreed under cross-examination on Monday that he did not know if Mr Roberts-Smith was carrying the same weapon, but said he was carrying the same type of light machine gun.

The hearing continues.

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