Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyers have told a court they have ‘proof’ his former wife, Emma Roberts, was lying about a crucial matter in his high-profile defamation case
The former elite soldier is suing Nine newspapers for defamation over a series of articles alleging he committed war crimes in Afghanistan and domestic violence – all of which he denies.
But Roberts-Smith is also suing his former wife in a separate case.
Roberts-Smith claims his ex-wife released his private communications to Nine ahead of the defamation trial.
Ms Roberts, in sworn affidavits, denied she had given her friend Danielle Scott access to the email accounts and leaked emails.
But the SAS veteran‘s legal team this week told the Federal Court they had objective proof that was a lie.
“The only person who had access to that (Roberts-Smith) email was an email address associated with Ms Danielle Scott or her husband,” the soldier’s barrister Arthur Moses SC said on Wednesday.
“(Ms Roberts) has been caught out lying on the objective evidence,” he added.
Mr Moses said Telstra and website records showed the email address from the Scotts was used to access the soldier’s email at least 101 times.
This allowed Nine to become “armed” with “private and confidential” information for their defamation defence, Moses said.
The court may now bring Ms Roberts in for questioning
Moses told the court Ms Roberts may now be brought into court for examination.
Ms Roberts’ own lawyer acknowledged there was evidence Scott had accessed the email but said there was no proof Ms Roberts had given Scott access.
Further, her lawyer Jason Murakami told the court that Roberts-Smith had never been able to show what information had been leaked to Nine.
“Never once has (Roberts-Smith) been able to refer the court to the confidential information he says he’s trying to protect,” Murakami said on Wednesday.
The lifelong friendship between Scott and Ms Roberts has been an enduring front in the legal battle after it emerged Ms Roberts would testify against her former husband.
Nine accused Roberts-Smith of burying USBs containing important evidence in the backyard of his matrimonial home and returning to collect them after separating from his wife.
Last month the courts were shown images of what appeared to be freshly disturbed earth at the Roberts-Smith Queensland home.
The court was told Scott and Ms Roberts had dug up the USBs and copied their contents.
Text messages between Scott and Ms Roberts have also been aired in court showing intimate discussions of Roberts-Smith’s relationship with another woman.
The SAS veteran denies it was an affair, insisting he struck up the chaotic relationship with the woman as his marriage quietly disintegrated in 2017.
Nine claims Roberts-Smith pressured his wife to lie about the time they separated to protect his public image.
The defamation trial is expected to resume in November after being delayed because of Sydney’s COVID outbreak.
Image: Getty Images
