Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview

Ben Roberts-Smith has said he doesn’t regret “a single thing” about his military career, affirming that he conducted himself the “right way” and “followed the rules”.

“I behaved as a soldier should, with honour, and I followed my training,” he said.

Roberts-Smith was asked about his twin teenage daughters, saying it was “hard” to see them exposed to the allegations he now faces.

“We have a very, very close relationship, and those girls are who I am as a person and what my values are, without question, because I instil the same values.”

He also praised partner Sarah Matulin and his parents, especially his mother.

“She’s the most loyal person you will ever meet, and her work ethic. You know, like she can build something out of nothing. But if you’re mum’s friend, you’re her friend for life, and she’ll be at every fight you’d have.”

The interview on 2GB has begun, with host Ben Fordham asking Roberts-Smith about his welfare after he was charged with war crimes.

“I am all right because of the levels of support from my family and the public at large. It’s the bit that gives me solace that I am fighting the good fight,” Roberts-Smith said.

“It’s obviously something [criminal charges] I’d rather not be going through, but it is my unfortunate reality, and there’s been good days and bad days for sure.”

He said he was motivated to accept the interview to tell his side of the story, and wanted to put “a couple of facts on the table” for listeners to hear.

“I really think if you’re going to go through this type of scenario, then you should be given a fair go, and that’s all I’ve ever asked for,” he said.

Ben Fordham’s interview with Ben Roberts-Smith is billed as his chance to tell his side of the story. He’s “refusing to stay silent any longer,” said the 2GB host, Ben Fordham, when plugging the interview just before 7am.

He’s “about to break his silence,” 2GB news claimed. No doubt we’ll be hearing his side, but it’s hardly his first chance to tell it.

News Corp outlets published multiple interviews and statements from Ben Roberts-Smith while The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reporters Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters were investigating his case in 2019.

“They’re calling me a murderer,” was the headline on the front page of The Australian in December 2019. In 2018 and 2019, he appeared on Sky News in October 2018 in a sharp suit to describe the Fairfax defence claims as “bewildering” and “completely untrue”. He returned in late 2019 to criticise ADF leadership.

Throughout this period, his then-lawyers refused multiple requests for comment from Roberts-Smith to this masthead. Whenever McKenzie or Chris Masters submitted formal requests for comment or detailed allegations, Roberts-Smith’s lawyer, Mark O’Brien, responded with legal warnings, threatening defamation lawsuits.

Then, after he initiated legal action and sued The Age, the Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation, Roberts-Smith spent two full weeks on the witness stand – four days of evidence in chief, led by his senior counsel, Bruce McClintock, and then another week in cross-examination.

Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.

The network is using the long-form interview format as part of a new strategy to find audiences on digital platforms outside traditional radio.

While selected excerpts of the interview will first air on 2GB, it will premiere in full on YouTube at 9am. The radio stations were formerly owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead, until the Laundys’ purchase at the start of the year.

Ben Roberts-Smith is expected to put his side of the story to the public in his first interview since he was charged with five counts of war crime – murder.

The interview marks the start of a public relations offensive as he prepares to fight the war crimes charges. He also launched a clothing line and Instagram page last week.

While he has not been paid for the interview, promotional pictures released by 2GB show him wearing his new clothing line Epic 1 Two in the video recording, which will be premiered in full on YouTube in video format at 9am.

Tapt Media, owners of 2GB, are using the long-form interview format as part of a new strategy to find audiences on digital platforms outside traditional radio. Host Ben Fordham was allowed to ask Roberts-Smith whatever he wanted under the agreement between 2GB and Roberts-Smith, the station said.

Read more here.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Ben Roberts-Smith’s interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

The interview featuring the disgraced war hero, who is on bail while he prepares to fight five counts of war crime – murder, is expected to roll out from just before 7.10am (AEDT) via a selection of hand-picked excerpts on the radio, before it is released in full in a YouTube premiere at 9am. Further excerpts from the interview will be played on 2GB on Friday morning.

The publishing of the interview, expected to last 150 minutes in its entirety, will mark the start of a coordinated PR blitz following the launch of his personal clothing line, Epic 1 Two, last week.

It is the first interview he has given since he was charged with war crimes.