Former special forces soldier and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith put out a statement on Monday critical of reporting by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald which he said contained "a number of demonstrably false claims".

Roberts-Smith was responding to a story that revealed a second Australian Federal Police investigation into allegations that he had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The story quoted the president of the journalists' union suggesting that elements of Roberts-Smith's defamation action against the Herald and The Age could damage press freedom. It also said Roberts-Smith had been critical of a separate inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force and the leaders of the Australian Defence Force.

Ben Roberts-Smith. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

The Age and the Herald believe the multiple investigations into alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan is a matter of significant public interest. We take any criticism of our reporting seriously and have responded to Roberts-Smith's claims below.