The disgraced former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has called a federal court civil judgment against him that found he committed war crimes a “terrible outcome” as he flew back into Australia.
The former SAS corporal, a recipient of the Victoria Cross and Australia’s most decorated living soldier, flew into Perth from New Zealand.
Roberts-Smith unsuccessfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and Canberra Times for defamation. Justice Anthony Besanko found the newspapers’ allegations Roberts-Smith murdered civilians and bullied comrades during his deployments to Afghanistan were substantially true. The findings are not a finding of criminal guilt, but the allegations were found proven to the civil standard of the balance of probabilities.
Roberts-Smith was not in court to hear the judgment against him.
Speaking to Channel Nine at Perth airport, he said he was “devastated with the result”.
“It’s a terrible outcome and it’s the incorrect outcome,” he said.
“We will look at it and consider whether or not we need to file an appeal but there’s not much more I can say about it.
“We’ll just have to work through it and I’ll take the advice as it comes.”
Roberts-Smith said he was proud of his service in Afghanistan. Asked if he would be apologising to the families of the victims affected by his actions in Afghanistan, Roberts-Smith said: “We haven’t done anything wrong, so we won’t be making any apologies.”
