Channel Seven was billed almost $170,000 for the legal costs of three witnesses testifying on behalf of Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation fight against war crimes allegations
subpoenaed Seven Network Operations, Stokes and commercial director Bruce McWilliam late on Thursday, personally requiring them to produce any relevant documents to the court.
The commander, known as Person 5, told the Federal Court on Thursday he had discovered for the first time this week – almost two years after engaging his legal team – that their invoices had been sent to Seven, which has employed Roberts-Smith as an executive since 2012. Person 5 also said he had never spoken to Stokes or anyone else employed by Seven other than Roberts-Smith.
The newspapers allege that Roberts-Smith directed a rookie soldier to kill an unarmed Afghan prisoner in 2009, and that Person 5, who cannot be named for national security reasons, ordered the killing. Person 5 said he never killed a prisoner, and never ordered a subordinate to do so.On Thursday, Person 5 told the court he had asked Roberts-Smith in May 2020 to put him in touch with a lawyer, but said there was no discussion about who would pay the fees.
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