Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial headed for adjournment due to COVID lockdown

The defamation trial of war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith is "bedevilled by the virus", his barrister says and appears headed towards an unavoidable adjournment.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times, along with three journalists, over a series of articles they published in 2018.

But as his legal team closed their case on Monday after three weeks of evidence, the barrister for two of the newspapers, Nicholas Owens SC, told the Federal Court the prospect of their witnesses travelling to Sydney had been complicated by the city's COVID lockdown.

"The problem is, although people could get here, there is a prohibition on them returning home or a very great burden placed on them in relation to their travel home," he said.

Mr Owens said witnesses from WA, Victoria and Queensland would either be barred completely from returning after being in Sydney or endure various forms of hotel or home quarantine.

He accepted it was an "entirely unsatisfactory" position, but one which the court had been "driven to by unforeseen circumstances".

Mr Roberts-Smith's barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, said it was "a terrible quandary" and his client very much wanted the case to continue and conclude.

"This case is bedevilled by the virus I'm afraid," he said.

Mr McClintock said he was not willing to forego the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses in person, making audio-visual link appearances unlikely.

Justice Anthony Besanko has adjourned the trial until Tuesday morning to consider the situation.

Earlier, former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson told the court Mr Roberts-Smith was "the most respected, admired and revered Australian soldier in more than half a century". 

Dr Nelson, who was the director of the Australian War Memorial from 2012, was today called as a witness by Mr Roberts-Smith's legal team to give evidence about his reputation prior to the articles.

"Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, was the most respected, admired and revered Australian soldier in more than half a century since Keith Payne VC of the Vietnam war," he told the Federal Court in Sydney.

"Wherever he went, wherever it was, he was the subject and the object of what I would regard as reverential mobs," he continued.

Mr Roberts-Smith has denied all allegations in the stories, including alleged involvement in unlawful killings in Afghanistan, bullying of Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) colleagues, and domestic violence against his then-lover in a Canberra hotel in 2018.

Dr Nelson said he "immediately" knew the first article was about Mr Roberts-Smith, despite him not being identified by name, due to references like his tattoos and stature.

Dr Nelson explained his concern for Mr Roberts-Smith after noticing changes in him following the publication.

"He'd become despondent, he'd become anxious, introspective, much less willing to engage in public events which he had willingly given of himself to previously, and the invitations to do so had declined," Dr Nelson said.

The proceedings have moved online in the fourth week of the trial due to Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown, with members of the public excluded from the city's Law Courts building.