<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>341524</docID> <postdate>2025-03-31 12:51:06</postdate> <headline>Roberts-Smith’s parents slam ‘concerning’ secret call</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-341525" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20240205001898087964-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="599" /></p> <caption>Ben Roberts-Smith's parents have backed him in a bid for a defamation retrial. (Flavio Brancaleone/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Adelaide Lang</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>The parents of decorated veteran Ben Roberts-Smith believe his bruising defamation loss could be explained by a leaked conversation involving the journalist who accused him of war crimes.</strong></p> <p>Sue and Len Roberts-Smith appeared in the Federal Court on Monday to support their son, who was accused of being a war criminal in reports co-authored by journalist Nick McKenzie for Nine-owned newspapers.</p> <p>A judge in 2023 found the reports were proven on the balance of probabilities.</p> <p>But in his appeal of that decision, Roberts-Smith argues there was a miscarriage of justice because McKenzie allegedly unlawfully obtained details about the former soldier's legal strategy.</p> <p>Leaked audio of a conversation between McKenzie and a witness was tendered to the Federal Court on Monday in which he says Roberts-Smith's ex-wife and her friend had been "actively briefing us on his legal strategy".</p> <p>"I shouldn't tell you," McKenzie says in the taped call.</p> <p>"I've just breached my f<strong><em>ing ethics in doing that, like this has put me in a s</em></strong> position now."</p> <p>In a statement outside court, Mr and Mrs Roberts-Smith said the conversation was "extremely concerning on a number of levels" and questioned whether McKenzie's conduct led to an unfair trial.</p> <p>They reiterated their support for their son who they say has been subject to vilification by the journalist and Nine for almost a decade.</p> <p>Roberts-Smith's barrister Arthur Moses SC told the Federal Court the journalist engaged in wilful misconduct that affected the outcome of the trial.</p> <p>Mr Moses pushed for a retrial before the full bench of the Federal Court to eliminate the possibility of apprehended bias that may arise if the matter was heard by a single judge.</p> <p>He noted former silk Nicholas Owens SC - who represented Nine newspapers during the initial trial - was recently appointed as a Federal Court judge.</p> <p>A decision about amending the appeal is expected to be handed down on Monday afternoon.</p> <p>Roberts-Smith rose to prominence in 2011 after he was awarded Australia's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, for single-handedly taking out machine-gun posts to protect pinned-down colleagues in Afghanistan.</p> <p>His reputation, however, was tarnished in 2018 after McKenzie's explosive reports alleging the special forces veteran was complicit in the murder of four unarmed men during his deployment in Afghanistan.</p> <p>In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko found the reports had been proven on the balance of probabilities - a lower standard than in a criminal proceeding.</p> </body>