Four SAS witnesses to be called by Ben Roberts-Smith in his war crimes defamation trial have been accused of colluding in their evidence concerning a murder allegation against the SAS veteran before the federal court.
In an argument over access to documents and whether they attract legal privilege, lawyers for the three newspapers being sued by Roberts-Smith have alleged the four soldiers have all given the “same, precise, demonstrably false error” in their outlines over an Afghan special forces member. Roberts-Smith’s lawyers said the newspapers’ allegation of collusion was scandalous, describing the arguments before court as “completely baseless” and “an attempt to prejudice the court and the public” against the witnesses.
