Federal MP Andrew Hastie has told a Sydney court war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith had a reputation for bullying a fellow elite soldier during his time in the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS).
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing three newspapers over a series of 2018 articles that he says contained false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence.
Mr Hastie was called as a witness by publisher Nine Entertainment, which is seeking to rely on the truth defence.
The Assistant Minister for Defence was a captain in the SAS prior to entering politics and spent time on deployment in Afghanistan with Mr Roberts-Smith.
"There was always, in the background, people who had a strong view on Mr Roberts-Smith and the way he conducted himself with other members of the regiment," Mr Hastie told the Federal Court.
When asked by Nine's barrister, Nicholas Owens SC, whether he had any reputation regarding one specific colleague, codenamed Person 1, he said multiple people had mentioned bullying.
"Over the period of my five-and-a-half years' service in SASR, if I was to summarise it, that Person 1 was the victim of bullying at the hands of Mr Roberts-Smith," Mr Hastie said.
He described Person 1, who Mr Roberts-Smith has denied bullying, as "a very bright person, confident and very competent".
Mr Hastie recalled crossing paths with Person 1 through regimental life before getting to know him well in the later half of 2013 during training.
He recalled one morning soldiers were eating breakfast when Mr Roberts-Smith was shown on a morning television show, wearing his uniform and medals, while speaking about mental health charities he supported.
Mr Hastie said another colleague, Person 68, stood up and loudly said: "RS gave Person 1 depression, now he's going to help him fight it."
He said everyone laughed, but not at the expense of Person 1.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Roberts-Smith's former girlfriend denied, under cross-examination, using a pregnancy and miscarriage during their affair in a "campaign of deceit".
Codenamed Person 17, the woman said she became pregnant with what she knew must have been the war veteran's child in early 2018, during a five-month extramarital affair.
The court has heard the two discussed a termination, however, Person 17 said she had a miscarriage on March 2 that year.
Barrister Bruce McClintock took the witness through a series of messages the two exchanged the following day, in which there was no reference to a miscarriage or distress.
"Madam, you knew you were not pregnant on the 3rd of March, 2018," Mr McClintock said.
"I knew that I was miscarrying," Person 17 replied.
She said she was in a "terrible" state of mind at the time and she had been arguing with Mr Roberts-Smith.
"You engaged in a calculated campaign of deceit, didn't you?" the barrister followed up.
"No," Person 17 said.
The witness agreed she did not tell the veteran about losing the child in further messages sent on March 4.
"You wanted him to think you were still pregnant when you knew you were not, didn't you?" Mr McClintock asked.
"I suppose so," Person 17 said.
"The reason why you wanted him to think that was to keep a hold over him, wasn't it?" Mr McClintock asked.
"No, either way, I was going to be terminating, if I'd not had the miscarriage," Person 17 replied.
Person 17 denied Mr McClintock's suggestion her messages were "dishonest and manipulative" and said she wanted to speak to the veteran face to face.
She agreed she had not sought treatment, nor any verification from a doctor.
The woman has previously described their affair as "all-consuming" and much of her cross-examination has raised personal details of their time together.
She earlier told the court Mr Roberts-Smith punched her on the left side of her face at Canberra's Hotel Realm after a function at Parliament House in late March 2018, angry that her drunken behaviour may have exposed the relationship.
Mr Roberts-Smith denies he struck the woman.
Mr McClintock put to her she had consumed a "very substantial" amount of alcohol and had no memory of the night, which she denied.
The court has heard Person 17 fell down some stairs while leaving the function, causing a bruise on her thigh and a sore forehead, but she maintained she was punched in the hotel room.
She denied she set out to "reap public revenge" by taking the allegations of assault to a journalist at the end of May 2018, distressed and upset at the end of the relationship.
"By that time, the love you felt for him had turned to hatred," Mr McClintock said.
"No, I don't hate him," Person 17 replied.
The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues on Friday.
