Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: police feared witness would destroy phone evidence

Former soldier appeared intoxicated, acting in a belligerent manner' when confronted with a search warrant, court documents say

Police feared one of Ben Roberts-Smith's SAS witnesses in his defamation case was going to destroy evidence on his phone when they confronted him with a search warrant in a city hotel late on Tuesday night.

The former soldier, who hours earlier had finished giving evidence to the defamation trial, appeared intoxicated, acting in a belligerent, unreasonable and aggressive manner", court documents say.