Ben Roberts-Smith fronts up to receive a medal from King Charles despite court findings he took part in war crimes

Fallen military hero Ben Roberts-Smith, who spectacularly failed to clear his name of war crimes charges, has received a special award from King Charles III at a formal ceremony.

Mr Roberts-Smith attended the event at Government House in Western Australia with his parents on Thursday, where he accepted a coronation medal for King Charles III, which the monarch said should go to all living Victoria Cross recipients.

Despite receiving that honour, Mr Roberts-Smith suffered a stunning loss during a marathon last June a defamation case in which a federal court judge ruled that war crimes allegations made against him by nine newspapers were “substantively or contextually” true.

These allegations included that Roberts-Smith, as an SAS commander, kicked an Afghan prisoner off a cliff in September 2012, ordered the execution of an amputee and was involved in three other executions of unarmed prisoners.

Mr Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, Australia’s highest military honour, following his actions at the Battle of Tezak in 2010.

He was seen outside the residence of WA Governor Chris Dawson on Thursday.

Also present was his father, retired Major General and former Supreme Court Justice Len Roberts-Smith.

It was unclear whether Mr Dawson was involved in the event and he has refused to answer questions about it.

The office of Governor General David Hurley, a former head of the armed forces, said in a statement that the decision to award medals was made by Buckingham Palace and did not involve Australia’s royal representatives.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also made it clear on Saturday that the decision to recognize Roberts-Smith was made by the king and not his government.

“This was the decision of the palace to give all Victoria Cross recipients another award,” he said in an interview with Channel 9’s Weekend Today.

‘Legal action is being taken on an ongoing basis on these issues, so given the government’s involvement it is important that there is no interference.

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

Queensland Governor Jeannette Young tweeted a photo of herself with her state’s recipients of King Charles III’s Coronation Medal.

She said the presentation was “in accordance with the wishes of His Majesty the King that living Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross, Victoria Cross for Australia, George Cross and Cross of Valor should receive it.”

King Charles III’s Coronation Medal has been presented to all living Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross, Victoria Cross for Australia, George Cross and Cross of Valor

Nine newspapers quoted an unnamed soldier as saying Roberts-Smith might not be able to receive the medal in person or could refuse it, in recognition of the controversy now following him after the loss in federal court last year.

In that decision, Judge Anthony Besanko found that all of the claims made by Nine Newspapers and Federal Capital Press, which Roberts-Smith maintained were defamatory, were “substantially or contextually” true.

Judge Besanko also ruled that allegations relating to domestic violence had “contextual truth” even though the evidence of Mr Roberts-Smith’s former mistress, Person 17, was “not sufficiently reliable to establish that an assault had occurred ‘.

However, the judge said the allegations, along with the claim that the ex-soldier was a hypocrite for posing as a DV campaigner, were “contextually true”.

The judge ruled there was “substantial truth” in claims that Roberts-Smith pushed an innocent villager off a cliff in Darwan, southern Afghanistan, and then ordered his execution.

There was also “substantial evidence that Mr Roberts-Smith had shot dead an unarmed Afghan with a prosthetic leg and ordered a young soldier at the Taliban’s Whiskey 108 complex to shoot an innocent villager to ‘bleed the rookie’.”

Mr Roberts-Smith has appealed the findings. Hearings took place in February and a ruling is expected soon.

It is believed the incidents are currently under the microscope of the US Department of Defense Inspector General of the Australian Defense Force (IGADF) Afghanistan investigation.

Known as the Brereton Report, the report investigates allegations of possible violations of the laws of war by members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

So far, one SAS soldier has been charged with war crimes.

Australian Defense Force commander Angus Taylor has recommended to Defense Minister Richard Marles that a group of special forces commanders be stripped of their awards due to the units’ misconduct.

The failure of Roberts-Smith’s defamation case, aimed at clearing his name, followed 110 days of explosive hearings at a total cost of $25 million.

His hopes of returning to the corporate world and his work as a motivational speaker have been thrown into doubt.

Mr Roberts-Smith has been ordered to pay legal costs and will be ordered to pay the very large legal bill from his victorious accusers, Nine Newspapers and Federal Capital Press.

As a Victoria Cross holder, Mr Roberts-Smith attended the 2022 coronation of King Charles III, despite objections from the Australian government.

Mr Roberts-Smith was also ordered to pay the legal costs of the publishers he had sued for libel