VC Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after defamation case

Ben Roberts-Smith VC, a VC, has resigned from Seven West Media after a jury found he murdered unarmed civilians while serving in the military in Afghanistan.

The finding was made in the context of a civil case, where several newspapers successfully defended a claim of defamation brought by Roberts-Smith by claiming what they had written about the former soldier was true.

Kerry Stokes, a billionaire chairman of Seven, financed Roberts-Smith's legal expenses in the highly-profile trial in 2015 by appointing him general manager of Seven Queensland.

James Warburton, managing director and chief executive of Seven, said on Friday that Roberts-Smith has offered his resignation.

As you re all aware, the judgment in the defamation case was handed down yesterday, Warburton said in an email seen by the Guardian Australia.

Ben has been on leave whilst the case was running, and today has offered his resignation, which we have accepted. We thank Ben for his commitment to Seven and wish him all the best. In 2021 he resigned from his job in Queensland to concentrate on the trial.

It was supported by the network's commercial director Bruce McWilliam, who attended the court and gave evidence.

On Thursday, Stokes said he had not spoken to Roberts-Smith, but the judgment does not accord with the man I know I know this will be particularly hard for Ben, who has always maintained his innocence. The result will be further grief as if his soldiers have disagreed with each other. On Thursday, nine investigative reporter Nick McKenzie accused Stokes of bankrolling Roberts-Smith. This is a media proprietor who should believe in journalism, yet he was waging a huge war against investigative journalism, McKenzie said.