Ben Roberts-Smith entitled to presumption of innocence but ‘none of us are above the law’, Andrew Hastie says

DJ Dan Jervis-Bardy Chief political correspondentThe Guardian - World NewsFiled 2026-04-09 · 06:17 GMTLean · Center-LeftRead · 1 min

Reading time

1_min

Word count

111_words

Sources cited

1_cited

Entities identified

8_entities

Quality score

100_%

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Briefing Summary

AI-generated

NEWSAR · AI

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has publicly commented on war crime charges against Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier. Hastie, who served with Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan, stated that Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence. However, Hastie also emphasized that "none of us are above the law." Hastie's statement is his first public comment since Roberts-Smith was charged with war crimes. Hastie was among the 21 Special Air Service (SAS) members who testified in the defamation case Roberts-Smith brought against Nine newspapers.

Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 5Entities 8

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Article analysis

Model · rule-based

Framing

Legal & Judicial

National Security

Tone

Measured

AI-assessed

CalmNeutralAlarmist

Factuality

0.70 / 1.00

Factual

LowHigh

Sources cited

Limited

FewMany

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Key claims

5 extracted

Hastie was among the 21 SAS who gave evidence in the defamation case.

factualArticle

Confidence

1.00

Hastie served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan.

factualArticle

Confidence

1.00

Andrew Hastie says 'none of us are above the law'.

quoteAndrew Hastie

Confidence

1.00

Andrew Hastie says Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

quoteAndrew Hastie

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1.00

Ben Roberts-Smith has been charged with war crimes.

factualArticle

Confidence

1.00

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Full report

1 min read · 111 words

Liberal MP makes first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier, whom he served alongside, was charged with War Crimes Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Liberal MP, Andrew Hastie, says Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence but “none of us are above the law” in his first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier was charged with War Crimes. Hastie served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan and was among the 21 Special Air Service (SAS) who gave evidence in the defamation case he brought against the Nine newspapers. Continue reading...

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