The police probe into Mr Roberts-Smith – one of the most secretive investigations in the nation – is the most serious inquiry ever conducted by the police into alleged war crimes. The AFP, which declined to provide any details of its probe citing an ongoing investigation, has jurisdiction to investigate claims of unlawful acts by Australian soldiers serving overseas. This is the second major inquiry to begin probing the famous former special forces corporal over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith speaks with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong A quasi-judicial investigation launched by the defence Inspector-General in 2016 and led by NSW Court of Appeal Justice Paul Brereton is separately investigating Mr Roberts-Smith along with a small number of other special forces soldiers. The AFP recently began collecting witness statements from members of the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth after quizzing them about Mr Roberts-Smith, according to defence insiders.

It is understood Mr Roberts-Smith has not yet been interviewed by the AFP, although the agency would not comment on the details of its inquiry. Typically, people of interest in a police inquiry are not interviewed until its later stages. Loading Mr Roberts-Smith's supporters have repeatedly said that, despite reports he is a focus of the Brereton inquiry, he has not been interviewed by its investigators. However, legal sources who occasionally work alongside Mr Roberts-Smith's legal team said he had recently been liaising with his lawyers and barrister, Arthur Moses SC, in anticipation of being examined by the Brereton Inquiry. The developments are unprecedented. Never before has such a famous and decorated Australian soldier been the subject of dual inquiries: an alleged war crimes investigation by the nation’s police agency and an Inspector-General inquiry investigating similar allegations. Since Fairfax Media first detailed serious allegations about Mr Roberts-Smith, he has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in Afghanistan, insisted he has a “spotless record” and insisted those making claims about him are disgruntled or jealous liars.

The AFP inquiry into alleged war crimes moved several months ago from assessment phase, which typically involves police assessing the credibility of allegations prior to assigning investigative resources, to a full-blown inquiry staffed with detectives. Loading Fairfax Media is not suggesting that Mr Roberts-Smith is guilty of war crimes, only that he is the subject of two inquiries into allegations raised by fellow soldiers. The federal police investigation is being conducted by the agency’s offshore and sensitive investigation taskforce under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan. Because war crimes allegations are deemed “politically sensitive matters” by the AFP, the decision to progress any such allegation from assessment phase to inquiry phase involves a painstaking process and referral up the chain of command. In certain cases, the AFP also notifies the Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton.

The AFP inquiry is being run out of the agency’s Canberra headquarters, and, in addition, the federal police’s Perth office is running a separate inquiry into threats sent to a serving Special Air Services Regiment sergeant. Fairfax Media is not suggesting that Mr Roberts-Smith has any involvement with those threats. However, evidence provided by defence sources suggests that the sergeant was threatened because he was rumoured to be assisting the Brereton Inquiry. Mr Roberts-Smith has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in Afghanistan, insisting he has a 'spotless record'. Senior military officials in Canberra were locked out of the federal police probe until recently, with Special Operations Command only briefed on the existence of the inquiry in the past month. Fairfax Media has confirmed through multiple military sources that both the AFP inquiry and the Brereton inquiry have gathered extensive information from decorated serving and former special forces veterans who served alongside Mr Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan. The Brereton inquiry has interviewed more than 200 witnesses on oath since 2016.

It is unclear if Mr Dutton or Prime Minister Scott Morrison have been briefed on the AFP inquiry into Mr Roberts-Smith, who, over the past five years has been appointed to serve on several federal government Defence committees. Mr Roberts-Smith is the most highly decorated Afghanistan veteran in the Commonwealth, having received a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry for his actions in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2010. He was appointed by former prime minister Tony Abbott to chair the Australia Day selection panel. The Director of the Australian War Memorial Brendan Nelson (right) hugs Ben Roberts-Smith. Credit:AAP Fairfax Media detailed allegations about Mr Roberts-Smith earlier this year, drawing on more than a dozen special forces insiders. Mr Roberts-Smith responded to the reporting by launching defamation proceedings and claiming no witnesses would back up what he described as malicious and unfounded claims about his behaviour. Since then, Mr Roberts-Smith has been publicly backed by the director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, and its chairman, media mogul Kerry Stokes. Mr Stokes handpicked Mr Roberts-Smith as a Channel Seven executive after he left defence.

Dr Nelson, a former defence minister, has repeatedly attacked the media reporting and Inspector-General’s inquiry into Mr Roberts-Smith on the basis that it is taking too long and because, "We want to believe in our heroes". But Fairfax Media has confirmed from special forces insiders that over a dozen SAS soldiers are assisting the Brereton inquiry. Many believe that scrutiny of allegedly unlawful acts is needed to preserve the integrity of the regiment and are scathing of Dr Nelson’s advocacy, believing it amounts to an attack on soldiers willing to raise concerns about alleged battlefield combat. Another high-profile supporter of the Brereton inquiry is former SAS officer and Afghanistan veteran Andrew Hastie, who is now a Coalition MP. Andrew Hastie. Credit:Trevor Collens Mr Roberts-Smith has claimed a series of articles published this year in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times are defamatory because they portray him as a war criminal and also allege he punched a woman with whom he had an affair. Mr Roberts-Smith denies all the allegations.

Fairfax does not concede that it made all the claims that are alleged by Mr Roberts-Smith. If the court decides otherwise, however, Fairfax says it can prove the claims are true. In support of its truth defence, Fairfax alleges Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful killings in Afghanistan, including an alleged incident in 2012 in which he is said to have kicked Ali Jan, an unarmed and handcuffed Afghan man, off a cliff before directing a soldier under his command to shoot him. Mr Roberts-Smith has said the defence filed by Fairfax was "baseless" and "purports to imply" that a list of 17 people, whose names have been redacted in the document, "will be witnesses in support of the Fairfax claims against me". Mr Roberts-Smith said he was "confident that witnesses who will be called in this case will say that Fairfax Media’s allegations are untrue". Last week, Mr Roberts-Smith issued a fresh statement denying all wrongdoing after the woman who alleges he punched her in the face in March outlined her claims in a sworn affidavit lodged in the Federal Court defamation proceeding launched by the ex-soldier.

The woman told the ACT police about the alleged assault in May, but later told officers she did not want to proceed with a criminal complaint, leading them to cease their inquiry. In the woman’s affidavit, she alleges she withdrew her complaint because she didn’t want her and her family’s identity exposed via any potential prosecution. ACT Police has said that it ceased its investigation due to “insufficient evidence to support any prosecution.”