The Latest Breaking News from Arthur Moses SC

The motivation for Ben Roberts-Smith allegedly kicking an unarmed Afghan prisoner off a cliff was because he laughed at him, the Federal Court has been told.

Ben Roberts-Smith's lawyer says evidence given against him had not established any of the grave allegations made by the newspapers he is suing for defamation.

Closing submissions have begun in the defamation trial launched by Ben Roberts-Smith, describing a sustained media campaign to discredit an exceptional soldier.

Ben Roberts-Smith's barrister tells a judge the war veteran was an exceptional soldier who was subject to a sustained campaign from newspapers to create a belief he was a war criminal.

Person 81 tells court he did not observe any conduct by Roberts-Smith and two other soldiers that caused him suspicion they had murdered anyone

Person 81, the troop commander during event central to the trial, says he was not informed of any insurgents killed at the time

A senior SAS soldier is likely the final witness to be called by Ben Roberts-Smith and has backed his account that no men were found inside a secret tunnel.

A former elite soldier codenamed Person 11, called as a witness by Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation case, rejects allegations the war veteran kicked an unarmed Afghan man over a cliff during a mission in 2012.

Person 11 to give evidence on allegation by newspapers that Roberts-Smith kicked handcuffed man off cliff before ordering him shot