Ben Roberts-Smith's barrister arranged for new lawyers for two special forces soldier witnesses who were to be called by media outlets defending the war hero's defamation case, a court has heard.
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The retired SAS corporal, one of Australia's most decorated living soldiers, is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, denying their reports that he committed war crimes and murders in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
Nicholas Owens SC, for the newspapers, told the Federal Court on Wednesday he'd become aware Arthur Moses SC had recently contacted a Sydney barrister, expressing concerns the interests of the two witnesses were not being properly protected regarding them being subpoenaed to give evidence.
The barrister contacted - Philip Boulten SC - contacted solicitor Peter Hodges and "through means unknown" either one or both of the pair were placed in contact with the two soldiers, codenamed Persons 56 and 66, the media outlets said.
The initial contact occurred in spite of the two lawyers sitting outside the list of lawyers involved in the lawsuit who are authorised to know the identities of the SAS personnel.
Only subsequently were the witnesses' retained Defence-approved lawyers made aware of the contact, Mr Owens said.
"Subsequent to that contact, Person 56's position (about giving evidence) has changed," he said on Wednesday.
According to the media's defence, Person 56 and Mr Roberts-Smith were involved in the allegedly unlawful killing of Ali Jan in 2012, by falsely alleging the Afghan villager was a Taliban spotter.
Person 66 was allegedly "blooded" by Mr Roberts-Smith in 2012.
Mr Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.
Person 66 was due to give evidence on Friday but was, on Mr Owens' understanding, meeting with Mr Boulten and Mr Hodges on Wednesday.
Mr Boulten and Mr Hodges have been asked to provide, under subpoena and by Thursday afternoon, copies of communications between them and the potential witnesses regarding giving evidence in the defamation trial.
A notice to produce was also issued on identical terms directed at Mr Roberts-Smith.
Meanwhile, under compulsion, a serving SAS soldier codenamed Person 14 on Wednesday revealed he met with Walkley Award-winning journalists Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie on multiple occasions in early 2018.
The journalists are the authors of the 2018 news reports subject of the defamation case.
After detailing some of his first meeting with Masters in January 2018, the soldier denied meeting Masters again.
He said a later question about McKenzie made him recall further meetings in early 2018 with both journalists, but he couldn't recall their substance.
Person 14 last week testified seeing Mr Roberts-Smith in 2012 telling an interpreter to tell an Afghan soldier to "shoot him (a detainee) or I will".
Mr Moses, for Mr Roberts-Smith, pressed the witness on that account, suggesting the entire episode including the comment was fiction.
"No, he said it twice," the witness said on Wednesday.
"You're making this up, aren't you?" Mr Moses said.
"One hundred cent no."
"There was no person shot in that compound, was there?"
"There was."
The hearing continues.
Elsewhere, Mr Roberts-Smith has lodged an appeal to a Federal Court decision forbidding him from cross-examining his former wife about confidential information in an email account.
He believes a notice to produce information in the defamation proceedings was informed by confidential information of his, provided to the media outlets by Emma Roberts.
The court in January rejected his claims against her as "ill-founded".
Ms Roberts is slated to give evidence for the media outlets in the defamation case.
Australian Associated Press