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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly

Decision to award Ben Roberts-Smith extra medal made by King Charles, not Australia, Albanese says

Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney
Ex-SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, already a recipient of the Victoria Cross, has received a coronation medal. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says it was not a government decision to award Ben Roberts-Smith a coronation medal from King Charles.

The ex-SAS soldier was welcomed into Western Australia’s Government House this week to receive the special honour – which is given to all Victoria Cross recipients.

Last year, Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, failed in a defamation case against three newspapers that he alleged defamed him as a war criminal.

Justice Anthony Besanko found that the newspapers successfully proved – to the civil standard of balance of probabilities – that Roberts-Smith was complicit in the murder of four unarmed civilians while serving in the SAS in Afghanistan, as well as bullying and threatening colleagues, and intimidating a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Roberts-Smith, who has consistently denied all wrongdoing, has appealed that decision.

Appearing on the Nine Network’s Weekend Today on Saturday, the prime minister said the decision to award Roberts-Smith a coronation medal was made by King Charles, not by the Australian government.

“This was the decision of the Palace to give all Victoria Cross recipients a further award,” Albanese said.

“There’s ongoing legal action on these issues so given the government’s engagement, it’s important that there not be interference in that.

“But it certainly wasn’t a government decision.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Roberts-Smith was photographed with his parents attending the event last Thursday. Both the governor of WA, Chris Dawson, and Buckingham Palace have been contacted for comment.

Roberts-Smith took the Sydney Morning Herald to court last year over a number of news stories it published that contained the allegations of war crimes.

After the 110-day trial, Justice Besanko found the newspaper had proven the allegations that Roberts-Smith was involved in the four murders during his deployment.

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