SAS senior command knew in 2013 of allegations Ben Roberts-Smith kicked detainee off cliff, court hears

In his evidence before the court last year, Roberts-Smith denied ever kicking anybody off a cliff and said the slain man was an enemy ‘spotter’. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Allegations Ben Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed, handcuffed detainee off a cliff in Afghanistan were reported to senior command within the SAS in 2013, but no action was taken, with the regimental sergeant major saying it was “over his head”, the federal court has been told.

Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross and one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers, is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ­reports he alleges portray him as committing war crimes, including murder.