Ex-soldier tells court there was no insurgents inside secret tunnel in Afghan compound

A former elite soldier told a Sydney court how he found a cache of weapons but no insurgents inside a tunnel at an Afghan compound that has become central to war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation case.

Evidence from the ex-Special Air Service Regiment SAS soldier codenamed Person 35, who has been called by Mr Roberts-Smith's legal team as a witness, contradicted that given by a number of previous witnesses who were members of his patrol.

Roberts-Smith is suing The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald over stories that included false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence.

A major focus of the case was an April 2009 mission at an Afghan compound known as Whiskey 108, known as a Taliban stronghold, where the secret tunnel was discovered.

Earlier witnesses called by Nine's defence lawyers claimed two unarmed Afghan men emerged from the tunnel after it was detected by the Australian patrol.

In court documents, Nine alleges that one of the men was executed by a soldier codenamed Person 4 at the direction of his superior, Person 5, while the second man was killed by Mr Roberts-Smith with a machine gun outside the compound.

Roberts-Smith denies the allegation and previously told the court two armed insurgents were legitimately engaged outside the building.

After the compound had been bombed and searched, a person 35 told the judge that he entered the tunnel, armed with a pistol and wearing night-vision goggles, to make sure it was clear.

He described the tunnel entrance as a rough-cut hole with earth-cut steps down under the ground, which was difficult to manoeuvre through and opened into a larger room.

Have you observed or located any people in the tunnel? Arthur Moses SC, the barrister of Roberts-Smith, asked.

He said when entering the tunnel he noticed a mat covering the ground.

On that mat were AK-variants, chest rigs, there were documents, communication devices, he said.

More batteries, more communication devices, those kinds of things were hidden in the rafter areas of the tunnel. Person 35 told the court that he returned to the surface after about a minute and then began transferring the items to his team.

Person 35 was shown photographs he had taken of the interior of the tunnel, which were shown to the court and was asked to describe what they showed.

He told the court that no Afghan locals were present in the courtyard where the tunnel was discovered.

A former member of his patrol, codenamed Person 40, told the court two apparently very frightened men emerged from the tunnel before they were marched off by Mr Roberts-Smith and Person 35.

He said there were two frightened women in the courtyard.

Another soldier, Person 42, recalled there were women in the area, and said at least two potentially three people came out of the tunnel, who he explained were compliant and came out unarmed when ordered by the Australians.

Person 35 told the court that nobody would have called out before clearing the tunnel because it was not applicable to the tactical situation. Another soldier witness, Person 41, said he saw Mr Roberts-Smith frogmarch an Afghan man outside the compound and fired three to five rounds from a machine gun into his back.

A witness called Person 24 said he saw the alleged execution and claimed that while the face of the shooter was camouflaged, he told the court he could tell it was Mr Roberts-Smith due to the person's hunched over gait.

Roberts-Smith and Person 5 have both given evidence that there were no men in the tunnel.