SAS soldiers told commander that Ben Roberts-Smith not ‘fit and proper person’ to receive Victoria Cross, defamation trial hears
Serving SAS major, called as witness by Roberts-Smith, tells court two groups of colleagues raised concerns about awarding of medal, but did not allege war crimes
A group of SAS sergeants told SAS senior command a decade ago that Ben Roberts-Smith was unfit to be awarded the Victoria Cross, alleging he claimed battlefield kills made by other soldiers, and bullied and assaulted his comrades, the federal court has heard.
A serving major in the SAS, anonymised before the court as Person 100 and giving evidence on behalf of Roberts-Smith, told the court that in 2013, when he was the SAS's regimental sergeant major, he was approached by two separate groups of soldiers who raised concerns about Roberts-Smith not being a fit and proper person" to hold Australia's highest military honour.
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