‘I don’t regret a single thing’: Ben Roberts-Smith speaks

Accused war criminal and Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith denies there was a culture of “blooding” in the SAS during his service, and claims he never broke the rules of engagement.

Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated soldier, who is charged with multiple counts of murder relating to his overseas service, sat down for more than two hours with Walkley Award-winning journalist Ben Fordham, for what’s been described as a “no holds barred” interview.

The full audio began broadcasting from 7am AEDT on 2GB today.

“I am alright because of the levels of support from my family and the public at large,” Roberts-Smith said.

“I am fighting the good fight and I will get there.”

Roberts-Smith served in the Australian Army from 1996 to 2013, including a decade with the elite Special Air Service Regiment.

His decorations include a Medal for Gallantry, a Commendation for Distinguished Service, and a Victoria Cross.

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In April this year, Roberts-Smith was arrested and charged with five counts of murder - war crime.

“It’s obviously something I’d rather not be going through at the moment. But it is my unfortunate reality,” he told 2GB.

“There’s been good days and bad days for sure.”

In the interview, he once again denied having shot prisoners or having witnessed any fellow soldiers shoot prisoners.

“I never broke the rules of engagement,” he said.

He denied there was a culture of “blooding” new recruits to the SAS.

Addressing claims that there was a practice of “throwdowns” - the act of staging photos by placing weapons next to slain people - he said it was a misinterpretation of orders from the leadership.

“That was just the process of the day,” he said.

“It wasn’t a police action, we’re not taking evidence.”

Rather than trying to “stage” anything, he said, the practice was to provide intelligence about enemies and their weaponry and equipment and what had been involved in a battle.

Roberts-Smith said he was motivated to do the interview after staying away from the media during his years-long civil defamation suit against Nine newspapers.

In 2018, Roberts-Smith launched defamation proceedings against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Canberra Times, after they published reports he had killed an unarmed teenager during his service, and had bullied other soldiers.

The lawsuit was dismissed in 2023 with the finding that the allegations were substantially true.

Roberts-Smith said he believed his silence during the civil process damaged his public standing.

He recalled that the first allegations about his conduct that surfaced were claims he didn’t deserve his Victoria Cross, and that he was a bully.

“I can say actually, hand on my heart, I don’t regret a single thing,” Roberts-Smith said of his service.

“I am so proud of the fact that I served my country, I loved being a soldier. I was at all times, at all times prepared to die for my mates.”

But he said he had a reputation for bluntness and directness among his peers, and admitted that if he thought a fellow service member was being “lazy”, he would speak to them about it.

“That organisation needs that level of accountability between each other at operator level,” he said.

Roberts-Smith has always denied wrongdoing during his service.

“I didn’t bloody murder anybody,” he told 2GB this morning.

On April 7 this year, Roberts-Smith was arrested on a plane at Sydney Airport by federal police.

He was charged with five counts of war crime - murder, and if found guilty could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He was granted bail on April 17, and issued a public statement denying the charges, as he has consistently done since the initial reports emerged.

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