‘Secret’ recording will be heard in court as Ben Roberts-Smith fights to overturn defamation loss

Phone call contains admission of a ‘serious nature’ by investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, according to decorated war veteran’s legal team

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A “recording made in secret” has been ruled admissible in Ben Roberts-Smith’s bid to reopen his appeal for his unsuccessful defamation case against Nine newspapers – despite Nine’s lawyers arguing the audio should be treated with “great caution”.

The recording is a key piece of evidence, according to the decorated war veteran’s legal team, who claimed the 85-second audio clip contained an admission by investigative journalist Nick McKenzie of a “serious nature”.

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