Nine orders return of hush money paid to Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex-mistress, accusing her of leaking recordings

Nine has ordered the return of the $700,000 in hush money it paid to Ben Roberts-Smith’s former mistress after accusing her of leaking secret recordings between her and reporter Nick McKenzie. The witness, known only as Person 17, was initially paid the money after sending a series of explosive emails to Nine executives claiming McKenzie had treated her poorly and wrongfully obtained parts of Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal strategy during the case. The settlement was reached just before Mr Roberts-Smith’s appeal in his war crime defamation case was heard last year. Last month, a secret recording of McKenzie speaking to Person 17 was aired on Sky News, in which the journalist can be heard claiming he had been “actively” briefed on Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal strategy. Following the segment, Nine’s lawyers sent a letter to the witness threatening to sue her, accusing her of leaking the audio and breaching the confidentiality cause of her settlement. “The Nine Group request that your client refund the Settlement Sum in full within 14 days,” the letter stated, along with the bank details to refund the cash. Nine refused to comment on the development on Monday. Attempts by The West Australian to contact members of the Nine board were also unsuccessful. According to 7NEWS, the details surrounding the settlement would have been revealed during a Federal Court hearing last week, however, the court would not permit Mr Roberts Smith’s lawyers to call the woman as a witness. In her correspondence, Person 17, alleged by Nine to be a domestic violence survivor, had also begged McKenzie to protect her from harmful stories being published in the company’s newspapers, previously known as Fairfax. When McKenzie assured her she would be protected, Person 17, asked how he could guarantee that, to which McKenzie allegedly replied: “I am Fairfax”. In an email, sent to Nine executive Tory Maguire and executive counsel Larina Alick, Person 17 claimed McKenzie admitted receiving confidential legal strategies from the Victoria Cross recipient’s ex-wife Emma Roberts and her friend Danielle Scott. “I also know these women were passing on confidential and privileged information to Nick as far back as mid-late 2020,” the email said. It has also since emerged that Person 17’s lawyers had sent a concerns notice to the ABC following a Media Watch report in March that examined the reporting of the secret tape. In the notice Person 17 said suggestions she had leaked the conversation were “false and seriously defamatory”, The Australian reported. Media Watch host Linton Besser also suggested “we’ve heard only the tiniest and surely most damaging snippet of the conversation” and that he had contacted Person 17 for access to the full tape but she had declined to respond. The witness also claimed the program had suggested she was an “adulterer” who had acted “criminally and illegally” in having an affair with Mr Roberts-Smith. After the bombshell recordings were made public, Mr Roberts-Smith, who lost his seven-year defamation lawsuit against Nine in 2023, was successful in having the appeal hearing reopened. McKenzie faced five hours of cross-examination in the Federal Court last week before the judges reserved their decision on whether or not to grant a retrial.