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Media leaks ahead of Ben Roberts-Smith arrest referred to corruption commission
The leaking of details about Ben Roberts-Smith's arrest has been referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett defended the public arrest, citing operational reasons, while the former SAS corporal denies all allegations.
The leaking of information to the media ahead of the arrest of former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have jointly referred the matter, according to officials who spoke at a Senate estimates hearing.
Roberts-Smith, a former SAS corporal and Victoria Cross recipient, was arrested at Sydney Airport on April 7 and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. He has categorically denied all allegations.
Coverage Comparison
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that the OSI and AFP have referred the leak to the anti-corruption commission. The Guardian reported that AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett is determined to find out how the media knew about the arrest ahead of time and that the alleged leaker should "face consequences." Both outlets covered the Senate estimates hearings where officials addressed the matter.
Key Claims
Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport on April 7 and faces five counts of the war crime of murder.
The former SAS corporal denies all allegations, saying "I categorically deny all of these allegations."
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett defended the public arrest, citing operational reasons, including that Roberts-Smith had no fixed abode and there was information he planned to relocate overseas.
Commissioner Barrett said airports are frequently used for arrests because people are screened by security and contained within them.
The federal government's special investigator and the AFP have asked the NACC to investigate media leaks about the arrest.
Chris Moraitis, director-general of the OSI, said he was surprised journalists had prior knowledge of the arrest and that the media "seem to have been privy to things." He said the AFP and OSI have written to the NACC, believing there was an unauthorized disclosure.
Perspectives
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett
Barrett defended the arrest at Sydney Airport as the best operational option, citing the seriousness of the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and the need for security and containment. She stated that if sensitive information was disclosed to the media, it would be an unauthorized disclosure and those responsible should face consequences.
Office of the Special Investigator (Chris Moraitis)
Moraitis expressed concern and surprise that media outlets had prior knowledge of the arrest, saying the OSI and AFP have referred the matter to the NACC. He noted that the NACC had yet to respond to the request as of the hearing.
How each outlet told it
ABC Australia
Framing: Defence of public arrest — Neutral
Facts Included:
Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport on April 7
He was charged with five counts of the war crime of murder
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett defended the public arrest
The arrest was made after information suggested Roberts-Smith could be bound overseas
Commissioner Barrett said airports are frequently used for arrests due to security and containment
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimBen Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport on April 7 and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from ABC Australiathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe former SAS corporal denies all allegations of war crime murder.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from ABC Australiathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimAFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett defended the public arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, citing operational reasons and the need for security and containment.
ClaimThe arrest was made after information suggested Roberts-Smith could be bound overseas, and airports are frequently used for arrests due to security and containment.
ClaimThe federal government's special investigator and AFP have asked the anti-corruption commission to investigate media leaks about the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe leaking of information to the media ahead of the arrest has been referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from ABC Australiathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimCommissioner Barrett said she intended to find out how details of the planned arrest were leaked to the media before it took place.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from ABC Australiathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimChris Moraitis, the director-general of the Office of the Special Investigator, said he was surprised journalists had prior knowledge of the arrest and was taking steps to ascertain what happened.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim