Under-siege war hero Ben Roberts-Smith is stood down from Channel Seven as the Victoria Cross recipient battles rival Nine Network over ‘baseless’ claims he is a war criminal
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has been stood down from Channel Seven amid his upcoming legal battle with rival Nine.
Seven chief James Warburton on Monday told staff it was a ‘mutual decision’ ahead of the former SAS corporal’s court proceedings.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine News for defamation over articles accusing him of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
The high profile legal battle is set to start in June.
Mr Roberts-Smith will take leave from his role as general manager of Channel Seven in Queensland while the defamation case is afoot.
Mr Warburton confirmed the leave in an all-staff email on Monday.
He said Mr Roberts-Smith would take leave from Monday ‘to focus on his upcoming legal matters’.
‘Ben and I believe this mutual decision is best for both him and our company,’ Mr Warburton wrote.
‘We expect Ben to return to his role upon the completion of his defamation proceedings.
‘As the trial is currently set down for eight weeks, it’s likely that won’t be until after August.’
More to come